All Day and a Night

Ellie Hatcher, Book 5

By: Alafair Burke

Narrated by: Andi Arndt

A new murder case with ties to a convicted serial killer leads Detective Ellie Hatcher into a twisting investigation with explosive and deadly results in this superb mystery from the "terrific web spinner" (Entertainment Weekly) Alafair Burke.

When psychotherapist Helen Brunswick is murdered in her Park Slope office, the entire city suspects her estranged husband - until the District Attorney's office receives an anonymous letter. The letter's author knows a chilling detail that police have kept secret: The victim's bones were broken after she was killed. Her injuries were eerily similar to the signature used 20 years earlier by Anthony Amaro, a serial killer serving a life sentence for his crimes. Now, Amaro is asking to be released from prison, arguing that he was wrongly convicted, and that the true killer is still on the loose.

NYPD Detectives Ellie Hatcher and J. J. Rogan are tapped as the "fresh look" team to reassess the original investigation that led to Amaro's conviction. The case pits them against both their fellow officers and a hard-charging celebrity defense lawyer with a young associate named Carrie Blank, whose older sister was one of Amaro's victims. As both the NYPD and Amaro's legal team search for certainty in years of conflicting evidence, their investigations take them back to Carrie's hometown and secrets left behind there. And when Carrie falls victim to a brutal attack, Hatcher knows that the young attorney got too close to the truth.

©2014 Alafair Burke (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers

Best novel I’ve read all year

I have been a fan of Ms Burke’s father and his characters for years so I thought I would try Alafair Burke’s characters and novels. I’ve read three so far this week (w/two left in my library). I was expecting a strong resemblance to James Lee Burke’s characters and novels but was both surprised and refreshed that they have very different writing styles. The only resemblances that I noted was that they both hook you with strong, interesting characters and novels that I just can’t put down (or turn off).

Alafair Burke is an excellent author and I yearn to hear more Ellie Hatcher books in the future. Despite everything I’ve said above it was also a wonderful surprise to have her father’s signature character and location make a cameo in an earlier book in the series.

Alafair Burke stands in the company of other great current novelists Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben and Stephen King (and his son Joe Hill).

As for this particular Hatcher novel she saved her absolute best story for last. I was enthralled and could only put the book down (or turn it off) to sleep for a few hours. I’ve never given a full five stars to any Audible book since starting the service in 2004 but this was an experience worthy of breaking my tough reviews.

I am usually critical of changes narrators during the course of a series but this transfer was flawless with Andi Arndt surpassing even the original Ellie Hatcher narrator (whom was also very good).

I strongly recommend this novel and the entire Hatcher series on Audible. Enjoy!

Gripping

I started reading Alafair Burke’s books a number of years ago because she came from a family of writers. Alafair is a law professor at Hofstra University. A few years ago I read the first few books in this series. This is book five in the Ellie Hatcher series. Hatcher and her partner are assigned a twenty year old cold case. An attorney, Carrie Blank, is also investigating the case. According to Alafair, the title “All Day and a Night” in prison parlance means a sentence of life without parole.

The book is well written; the story moves right along. After I started reading, I remembered why I had stopped reading this series. The series and this story are about a serial killer. I am totally burned out on serial killer stories. So will not pick this series up to read again.

. The book is ten hours and thirty minutes. Andi Arndt does an excellent job narrating the book. Arndt is an exceptional narrator. She is an actress and voice-over artist. In 2018 she was an Audie Award finalist and also in 2018 was installed in the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame. She narrates in multiple languages: English, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, French and Mandarin Chinese.

Great book

Wonderful book, keeping you guessing until the very end. Once again, Alafair Burke has written an exceptional mystery. Can't wait for her next book.

Races to a satisfying and surprising conclusion

I listened on the strength of some book blurbs and now know I have discovered a new author whose works I need to read.
While it is a police procedural on one level, what makes this a strong story is that it is a crafty interweaving of many stories told in different voices. The author leaves the reader saying of course when all the threads are worked out.
In my experience it is unique in having so many strong female characters in a police thriller.
The plot is based on the problem of whether a serial killer was wrongfully convicted. Interestingly the serial killer himself plays only a minor role in the story.

Reader

Enjoyed the book and enjoyed the reader. I didn’t have any problems listening at all.

Thumbs down

Narration ruined this audio book for me. The first 4 in the series were great, this was a very bad change from the original storyteller. It really effected my ability to enjoy this audio book.

Quite a Change

I didn’t know what to expect , but I was looking for something like Dave Robiicheaux. This does not have the same sense of place as the Robicheaux stories, but is a good tale all the same. The narrator is part of the problem , she does not convey the characters well

Love the story!

Love the Ellie Hatcher series. I have listened to all . This book is awesome. Loved the twists and turns. Did not care for the narrator at all. Ellie sounded whiny. JJ had an accent not like in the other books. Neither sounded like the characters in the other books. But loved the story.

Loved it!

I love this author and all of her books. This one had a pretty good twist at the end.

Narrative

Did not care for the narrative at all. Hard to follow which character she was. Voice was not believable as a seasoned detective.