Red Light (Katie Maguire) Paperback – July 1, 2015

This was the second book I have read by Mr. Masterton, and there is no doubt he is a very accomplished author. Because of that, I was mystified by the end of this one. It was painfully anticlimactic, and ended so abruptly that I turned the page and shouted, "WHAT??" at my Kindle. I try to give reviews that are helpful, so I will say the story was well-done until that point. Although I loved the book "White Bones" and was ready to buy the rest of the series, I have resisted the urge to do so, because of the dead-end to "Red Light."

The murders that Detective Sergeant Katie Maguire deals with in Cork are unusual and violence is very explicit throughout the entire story, Some find the murders justifiable, since those who are killed, traffic young girls. I am not sure if the extreme violence, in every murder is needed in such gory detail, and at times I skipped over some, but this part of the book was interesting. Then there is Katie Maguire's love life - which after the initial introduction of her boyfriend lead to obvious conclusions. Somehow it did not fit with the story - it was a side story that seemed to be thrown in because all main characters need a love life.I admired Katie Maguire's dedication to her work, wondered how she could survive, because she never eats, and sleep is not a word in her vocabulary. The crime and how she solves it was intriguing, but the romance did not fit the story. It is a readable book, but definitely not my favorite mystery. Not sure whether I would continue with the series.

I stopped reading in the middle and read something else. But I came back to it and I'm glad I did. The first half seemed to take forever, moving at a slow pace. Also being American, I needed my "English to English" dictionary every so often. Since the murder takes place in Ireland, there's some phrases that escaped me.However, it didn't detract from the story.Katie is a detective in Cork, and a very dedicated one also. She's trying to solve grizzly murders that she is sure are connected to the sex trade industry, while determined to be respected as a woman in a man's career.About half way through, the story pace really kicked into high gear and I read until 4 am.Her personal life is in shambles, because she can't get away from her job.There's a couple of plot situations that make you go, "What? That would never happen." But in general it was a good concept.

This is not as good as his other Katie McGuire novels. Although I love the idea of the woman vigilante (somewhat sick I know), I wondered that Katie never seems to eat and has such poor choice in men. The sex scenes...meh. But if there was ever a group of men who needed "punishing," it's the vicious pimps described in the novel. The ending was anti-climatic...and disappointing. I wanted to see the main bad guy get his, but I knew he wasn't going to because I read the books out of order. Sigh...People who are disturbed by his somewhat graphic depictions of the torture have to remember that Mr. Masterton is first known as a horror writer. All in all another good addition to the Katie McGuire series, but not his best.

There is apparently a new genre of mystery, let's call it feminist revenge, in which a female killer picks some truly disgusting individuals as victims and a police or private detective must decide whether to pursue the killer or hand him (or her) a medal. Red Light is one of these and its look at human trafficking in Ireland enlightens, as does its look at what it is like to be a female detective on an Irish police force. Though it is not the first book in the Maguire series, it easily stands alone (though some facts might make reading previous Maguire books less suspenseful). As a mystery, I might have given it only two stars, but for its sense of place (particularly the culture) I'd add a couple more. Average of these is three -- and I am looking forward to reading more of the series.

A tough read - horrible people behaving hideously, a beautiful woman seeking revenge but committing gruesome acts to achieve it, a law officer who has to deal with them all while trying to maintain a loving home life. No happy ending in this tale!

Ugh, a nasty line of crime, but one that happens, regretfully, everywhere. Good story, again. Skin-crawling, again. And some nasty characters that continue onward. I hope they get their comeuppance soon! One thing, however, that is a recurring theme - so far a known character always meets their end in every book, so be warned and expect the unexpected!

Interesting idea. Sex scene completely unnecessary. Repetitive graphic description of torture too much. Once would have been enough. Like most books. Ending's a bit anti-climatic. Hint of "switching sides" didn't fit with rest of book at all. You can't put every idea you have in one book.I enjoy the Irish setting. I finished it; that's about my highest praise for this one.

If you wanna start and Read the Katie Maguire Novels be warned once you have read one , you will want to read them all, they are such a good read, so much going on in them. there is about 10 in all ,i read one and ended up reading all of them and waiting for the next one later this year.fantastic read, not for the Faint Hearted though as it does go into detail of how the crime is committed in great detail which can be very Gruesome, take nothing away from the way it is written and how it flows along ,keeping you of the edge of your seat.

Mastertons books are always a rollicking good read I've read a lot. Ok suspend your disbelief that a high ranking police officer despite various serious attacks on her own person and those of her near family a) has no credible security system at her house b) walks around her home with the curtains wide open at night c) let's someone paint her naked (suspect the outcome would be very Bob Ross/ 1960s green lady).Delight in Masterton's take on what is sexy " he was like a Greek god !" If Greek gods had curly black hair and a plaited leather belt. I will leave you to the delights of Katie's own sexy secrets in your own time but personally as a professional woman tights with no knickers is a bad idea and also unhygeinic. Believe me the sexual elements are often laugh out loud. He also likes to flag the problem of immigrants especially Africans (pimps) and eastern Europeans (pimps and drug dealers). The Catholic church doesnt do well either - no surprise there.So why read them at all? Well after a stressful day in the NHS it's great to read something well written exciting and often horrifying in return. You can be gripped to find our what happens next and escape from the mundane. You will feel you know Cork and it's environs. It's not high literature or even the best crime drama but it has it's place and for a time I've enjoyed it as a guilty pleasure. Ok sometimes its ridiculous but laugh out loud and carry on.

The whole Katie Maguire series is exactly what you would expect from this author, nothing less than brilliant. It is certainly not one for the squeamish or the faint hearted.Katie Maguire certainly gets the short end of the stick when it comes to the cases she has to solve. Link this to her attempts to have a life outside is her work and there is a massive story in every book in the series.The author is a master of the Macabre with this book no exception.If you have read any of the multitude of books written by the author you will already be a fan. If you haven't then don't wait, get started.

Another well written and enthralling Katie Maguire, which sees our lady take on the local sex trade, people trafficing and police corruption. The book is largely better written than the previous two Macguire, and the climax is excellent. That said, much of the climax you could see coming and there is no real twist, and there is a sudden and almost sad ending, and this lets down the book somewhat.

Having really enjoyed the first two books in this series I was most disappointed with this one. So why?potentially gripping and interesting story line, the person committing the murders having the potential to be a memorable and outstanding character and I had liked Katie, I found the overall story so very much weakened by too many parallel (and often very predictable story lines) which detracted from the main story and took too much space in the book. I hope these were not placed to provide a plot for subsequent novels - if so then it will be goodbye Katie for me.I was frustrated by what I considered to be a lost opportunity in exploring better the motivation and background of the person committing the murders. I am trying not to go into spoiler territory but I found a real disconnect her background relating to her necklace and what she did with her boyfriend - additionally given her background and her age (which you could approximate) I couldnt see how a time line for her life and experiences could work. Having started to challenge this detail, some of the detail around the murders started to feel inconsistent - particularly the timeline of the murders and subsequent references to the vicitms activitiesand Katie and John - who cares?!! And I did before