Reviews

“I absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book!! The plot and the story grab the reader from page one, and the characters are captivating. Neil Low is right up there with some of the best, like James Patterson, Lisa Scottoline, and Daniel Silva.”

“Grab your fedoras, Raymond Chandler fans, there’s a new noir fiction writer in town!”

“Once again, Vera Deward and Alan Stewart are on the case, this time solving brutal crimes in Seattle’s historic Paramount Theater, Orpheum Theater, and Moore Theater. As it is with all of Low’s fatal fables in the series, they crack with the verisimilitude of a real-life police detective. It’s like he’s taking dictation from Hell. On the boards or off, Low’s Theater of the Crime is a show-stopper!”

“Leave it to Neil Low to bring us Depression-Era Seattle, steeped in the Wobblies labor movement, seasoned with the prophecies of The Man Who Knows All, stirred with the not-distant history of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and its controversial and cruel murder of the Russian Czar and family, and strained through the milieu of the now lost spectacle of magnificent and opulent theaters. I won’t speculate on the mind that brings us this scintillating combination of entanglements, except to say that it creates a fine story.”

“Again, Neil Low spares no expense in a gripping yarn for Wages of Sin. A darker and more sinister mystery than his previous novels – and inspired in part by a shocking true crime – the detective work of Alan Stewart and Vera Deward makes us glad they’re on our side. As I kept reading, I wished these literary detectives were real. The book has an authentic feel for police procedural-which comes as obvious since a full-time cop wrote it. From Wages of Sin’s opening pages, Low binds us tighter than a murderer’s knot.”

“My husband has read your books three or four times each. He loves them. We also purchased them for each set of our parents and they are also fans. Anyway, we can’t wait for your next book.”

“I am almost done reading Thick as Thieves… 25 more pages to go. I must say that I have enjoyed reading it and think it would be appropriate for me to give you an ‘attaboy’ for whatever it is worth. As I am an avid reader, I can’t wait to start on the other book. Please let me know when it is available!”

“No one can write about cops-and robbers- like a real police officer. When they are good, they are very, very good, and Captain Neil Low IS VERY GOOD as he magically captures another era in his new book: Thick as Thieves. Reading it is akin to stepping into a film noir, shadowy, smoky, and shocking. No one is whom he seems to be, and each unveiling heightens the pace of high tension. How could the Lindbergh kidnapping be connected to Seattle? Low’s vivid imagination makes one wonder…Why did a loyal son, bent on revenge, allow himself to sink into the enemy’s quagmire of betrayal and violence? This is a great book, alive with action, sometimes shocking in its scenes of forbidden sex, and unremittingly true in its characterizations. Set aside a few days to read it because you won’t want to stop!”

“Here’s the first thing I can tell you about Neil Low’s new novel: There are strong women herein. If you don’t like strong women or stories about them, find another book. The mood of this tale reminds me of the foggy, black and white crime movies of the period before World War II, and that’s not accidental. It’s clear that the author has extensively researched the Seattle of that era and makes that time real to his readers with deft, subtle touches. This story may humor you, and it’s likely to get your juices flowing. But perhaps most importantly, it’s going to make you think, because it has more twists and turns than the catacombs under Chinatown, which Low describes so vividly. And here is something else I can tell you: You will have to wonder if Low’s catacombs (underneath Seattle’s Japan Town) are real or if they are stuff of legend and myth. “Aye, there’s the rub,” as someone else who knew a thing or two about telling a good story once wrote.”

“I grew up in downtown Seattle, Pill and Capital Hills, and about a block East of Westlake and Denny. I really identify with the local of your mysteries. I also loved J.A. Jance’s Detective Beaumont for the same reasons. You two authors hit my feelings, Alan in the late 30’s, my youth just before the War, and Beau for my adult period. A friend asked me to describe your style and I said “It’s like Mickey Spillane had dinner at Tai Tung and lost Mike Hammer somewhere between there and Ivar’s where they were headed for late night clam chowder! And now, I gotta get back to Alan and Vera”.

“I just finished Alan and Vera’s saga with the metal shipments. I was young but remember my folks talking with disgust about us shipping scrap to Japan. I did not realize the value of brass until I read your book. I’m looking forward to your next Alan and Vera saga.”

“I have not yet read your books (I just ordered them a few minutes ago) but I saw a piece about you on television and decided to check out your website. I enjoy mysteries, and especially ones set near where I live. I like knowing a location and picturing the story happening there. Your reviews are great, so I am looking forward to sharing them with my niece.”

“I read and absolutely loved Neil Low’s first book Thick as Thieves. I couldn’t wait for his new book Sign of the Dragon and it was worth every single minute of the wait. His character Alan Stewart returns in Sign of the Dragon. It isn’t necessary to read Thick as Thieves first but hey, you are going to miss one great book. Sign of the Dragon literally grabbed me from the first page. I started while waiting in my doctor’s office and for once, was glad they were running behind schedule. This book has two women spies who are both strong and sexy. They remind me of Black Widow spiders…once they get their men in their ‘web’ they are hers. This book has lots of twists and turns- which I love. I have lived in Seattle my whole life and there were so many things I didn’t know about Seattle until I read these two books. Neil Low obviously did a lot of research. I love the references to the Seattle area in his books. The book cover illustration is absolutely awesome. In fact, I was sitting in a cafe in Ballard, and had the book with me. People were attracted to the cover, asked to look at it, read the back, and asked me about it and said they were going to buy it! I told them, of course, about Thick as Thieves. Now the hard part begins–waiting for Neil Low to write another book!!”

“I read your book last week while in Mexico. Very entertaining!!! Your intertwining of three different stories was interesting and unexpected. Your knowledge of some of the arcane facts (assuming they’re true) was awe inspiring. I will treasure my signed copy for eternity, or death if it comes first.”

“An inside look at the dark side of law enforcement from a bygone era.”

“Unreasonable Persuasion is a great detective novel. Set in the 40’s the main characters are PIs investigating a disappearance of a family friend. The Seattle setting is refreshing and serves as a great back drop for the unfolding mystery. The main characters, Alan and Vera are fleshed out and interesting, although much of their development relates to the two previous novels I have not read. That said, on the strength of this book and the characters I will be hunting down the first two in the series soon. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries, noir and hard-boiled detective novels. The writer’s Seattle police background can be felt in the pages, providing legitimacy to his prose.”

“Vera Deward and Alan Stewart are reminiscent of Hammett’s Nick and Nora Charles in the Thin Man series. As characters, they are endearing and occupy a comparable class. Unholy Alliance’s prose bangs with the authenticity of a veteran detective on a blood-soaked ride through the foreboding criminal underworld of a Seattle that time forgot. The yarn is made genuine because Low uses police tactics that only a real-life cop would know. Unholy Alliance, an alliance of Low’s earlier historical novels, in another dynamic advance in crime fiction.”

“Low’s calculated police procedural brings a sense of sanity to Crazy Love.”

“Combining a lifetime’s experience of law enforcement with the narrative instincts of a born storyteller, Neil Low delivers another winner with his thrilling and disquieting Crazy Love.”