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50 Book Challenge #7: Midnight Rambler

By "Milbarge" and "Fitz-Hume"

Midnight Rambler by James Swain. (Amazon, B&N, Powell's) This was highly entertaining, one of the best thrillers I've read in a while. Swain's hero is ex-cop Jack Carpenter, an expert in finding missing persons. He took down the notorious Simon Skell, aka The Midnight Rambler, a serial kidnapper and killer, but went a little overboard making the arrest. His actions and his larger obsession with the Rambler case cost Carpenter his job and marriage. As the novel starts, he's doing some private-eye work to make ends meet, but has generally turned into a beach bum on the outskirts of Ft. Lauderdale.

But one of the victims of the Rambler shows up buried in a back yard, and it appears that Skell will go free. And another woman has been taken. So Jack has to race against time to connect Skell to both cases and prevent the Midnight Rambler from striking again.

Okay, so that sounds a little overdone. But the story was well-paced and well-told. There are some very tense scenes, and some well-written action sequences. I could easily see this book being turned into a movie.

One thing that might help that along is the plethora of product placement in the book. I suppose it's intended to add realism, but it becomes amusing after a point. Although it's not all flattering -- I doubt Disney and McDonald's are happy about their treatment.

A couple of quibbles. First, I wish Jack had been a tad more flawed. As it is, his only real "flaw" is the dammit-I-care-too-much non-flaw. The story would have been darker, but perhaps more interesting, if Carpenter had been suspected of the murders, or at least had a drinking problem, or something. He's a tad too righteous, which is probably why most people don't like him.

Also, the title of the story comes from the killer's obsession with the eponymous Rolling Stones song. He plays it over and over as he tortures his victims. I listened to the audiobook, and I think it would have been a great touch to have the song playing in the background during those scenes. I guess the Stones weren't willing to give up the rights, but it would have been a cool feature. To attempt to address this minor drawback, enjoy the song via the player below.

All in all, though, Midnight Rambler is a taut, gripping thriller with a memorable villain and a protagonist worthy of a series, or at least a sequel. A solid A-. Definitely recommended if you're into the genre.

(Previous 50 Book Challenge reviews)

Full post as published by Begging the Question on April 20, 2008 (boomark / email).