Avec ce premier roman de Jodi Compton, nous faisons la connaissance de Sarah Pribek, inspecteur à la brigade des personnes disparues. Son mari, Michael Shiloh est inspecteur dans la police de Minneapolis mais s'apprête à partir au centre de formation du FBI à Quantico pour une période de quatre mois. Lorsqu'elle rentre chez elle et découvre la maison vide, elle pense que celui-ci vient de partir pour la Virginie. En découvrant qu'il n'est jamais arrivé à destination, Sarah va mener son enquête. Interrogeant les voisins, retraçant son possible parcours, traversant les Etats-Unis, à la recherche de son mari, Sarah va se voir confrontée elle-même à l'angoisse des familles de personnes portées disparues. Allant de découvertes en découvertes sur la personnalité de son mari ainsi que sur son passé, Sarah aura-t-elle le temps de retrouver sa trace? "Geneviève m'avait dit un jour, dans les premiers temps de ma carrière d'inspecteur: "Quand tu te retrouve avec une affaire de disparition, une vraie, une affaire qui t'inspire un mauvais pressentiment, les vingt-quatre ou trente-six premières heures sont capitales. Vas-y à fond. Et vite". La plupart du temps, il s'agissait de disparitions d'enfants. Parfois aussi, c'étaient des femmes qui avaient disparus dans des circonstances inquiétantes: traces d'effraction à leur domicile ou bien plusieurs amis ayant vu un ex-fiancé sinistre rôder dans les parages. Rien de tel concernant la disparition de Shiloh. Dans son cas, les trente-six heures s'étaient écoulées sans que je m'aperçoive qu'il avait disparu." (p.84)"La 37e heure" est un polar rondement mené qui répond à toutes les caractéristiques que l'on en attend: un personnage principal attachant, une disparition mystérieuse, une enquête de longue haleine, et beaucoup d'interrogations. Son écriture est simple mais efficace et elle sait nous tenir en haleine à travers un texte dense nous laissant peu de temps morts. Jodi Compton nous livre ici un polar qui se veut somme toute classique où la psychologie des personnages tient une place primordiale. Un très beau début pour cet auteur, dont je suivrai très certainement l'actualité, même si l'issue du roman nous laisse un peu sur notre faim...laissant présager d'autres romans... Son deuxième opus "Les jeux sont faits" est également disponible en version ebook aux Editions des Deux Terres. Je remercie MyBoox et les Editions des Deux Terres pour cette découverte que je recommande à tous les amateurs de polars.
Sarah Pribek specializes in missing person cases, which theoretically should come in handy when she realizes her husband has disappeared somewhere between home and Quantico, where he was meant to begin training for the FBI. It's only as she begins searching for him that she realizes just how little she has to go on. Mike Shiloh is a private man, they've only been married for two months, and she knows very little about his past that could offer up any clues.While this book had a lot of potential and a few interesting characters, I felt the author spent too much time detailing out past events. I found myself skimming over entire italicized sections of 'memory' just to get back to the main plot, while recognizing that somehow everything I was being told would end up related or important. That in and of itself was something of a disappointment, because it took away some of the dimension of the book. Also, while I recognize that neither Pribek nor her husband were 'sentimental' types, I sometimes felt like her husband almost wasn't worth looking for considering how flat and emotionless he seemed.And, finally, as many have said before, the ending wasn't all that great. For me, it wasn't the resolution so much as the details about Shiloh's past that feel heavy-handed and unnecessary. They do not effect the main story, but somehow manage to cast a shadow over the writing for being so over the top.This book is a fun read if you're just looking for something to pass the time, but there are other mystery books I would recommend before it.
What do You think about The 37th Hour (2005)?
This was my bus read this week and it was a good one, but it all started to unravel at exceptional speed in the last 20 (or so) pages. The seeds were sown from the beginning about where Shiloh had gone and what he has done, but when Sarah finds this out all the other issues that crop up seem to overshadow the missing person case. It seems as though the author had a lot of ideas but just dumped them on the unsuspecting readers at the conclusion of the main story.I also felt that I had picked up the story half way through - I actually had to look up whether this was a second book in a series. Sadly I hadn't. This was the first book (of two) in a series but seemed like a lot of the background could have been best served in a prequel.
—Miz
Jodi Compton's The 37th Hour is a great debut novel with a hanging ending that leaves you with a great deal to ponder. (view spoiler)[How could it come to such a point where two cops, good at what they do, fine upstanding citizens both end up as suspects in murders? How could the criminal justice system let murders and rapists off on technicalities? How could a man mislead his wife so he could go and finish what the courts let get away? Sarah Pribeck and Mike Shiloh have only been married two months when he disappears. He should have been on the way to the FBI for 4 months of training in preparations for a career in the FBI. Instead it turns out he goes to run down the murderer and rapist who killed the daughter of a close friend. Sarah's search for Mike takes her to Utah and revelations about Mike's relationship with his sister that shock her and may end their marriage. To make things worse, the murdered girl's mother, Genevieve, is Sarah's former partner and in the heat of passion Genevieve kills Shorty -- the man Shiloh couldn't bring himself to run down. As the book ends, Genevieve is on the way to Paris, Mike is in jail for multiple felony charges, his career ruined and Sarah is a prime suspect in the murder of Shorty. The first 36 hours in a missing persons case are supposed to be the best window of opportunity to find someone-- what happens in the 37th hour after Mike disappears and Sarah sets out to find him is quick a shock. (hide spoiler)]
—Ann
A little ho-hum, I'm actually surprised that I finished this book. I think it was the fact that no one knew where Shiloh was and I really had to know. But to me, there was no climax. There was no "aha" moment. It was just a story where characters walked in and out and really made no great impression on me. I see Jodi Compton has written some other books since this one. I don't think I'll be picking any of them up, unless I'm looking to fill book count and I get it cheap/free. There are much better thriller/mysteries out there and I'd advise you to give it a miss if you are looking for something you'll enjoy.
—Jenn
