Night Is The Hunter by Steven Gore

4 Star

They call it pulling the trigger.

Not by a killer in the night, but by a judge on the bench.

Twenty years ago, Judge Ray McMullin proved to the people of San Francisco that he could pull that trigger by sentencing Israel Dominguez to death for a gangland murder. But it meant suppressing his own doubts about whether the punishment really did fit the crime.

Now, as the execution date nears, the conscience-wracked judge confesses his unease to former homicide detective Harlan Donnally on a riverbank in far Northern California. And after immersing himself in the Norteno and Sureno gang wars, which left trails of bullets and blood crisscrossing the state, and in the betrayals of both cops and crooks alike, Donnally is forced to question not only whether the penalty was undeserved but the conviction itself.

Soon those doubts and questions double back, for in the aging judge's panic, in his lapses of memory and his confusions, Donnally begins to wonder whether he's chasing the facts of the case or just phantoms of a failing mind. But there's no turning back, for the edge of night is fast closing in on Dominguez, on McMullin, and on Donnally himself.

Amazon Barnes & Noble Kindle Kobo Nook

Sabrina-Kate - 4 Star

As soon as I started reading Night is the Hunter, I was quite intrigued. The story was so well developed and every situation and character were described so incredibly well that I felt like I may very well be on a ride along with Harlan Donnally.

I do enjoy a good detective/police novel and this was one not to miss. The story had me gripped and I already want to read this author's previous two books. It is clear that he has some real experience with situations of this type as the details rang true.

I was quite pleased with how Gore focused on the main part of the story yet incorporated other parts of Harlan's life into it without losing track of the most important details. I am not a fan of thrillers that stray too far off of course because I like the story to make sense sequentially. I did have a bit of trouble keeping some of the gang members straight but I think it was more a question of me paying a bit more attention than the author's writing ability.

Night is the Hunter kept me reading well into the night due to its fast pace and short chapters. A compulsive and highly enjoyable read, a definite must read for any fan of this genre.

Thank you to William Morrow for our review copy.  All opinions are our own.

Connect with Steven Gore:

Website       Facebook      Goodreads