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The Owl: Scarlet Serenade: An Owl Thriller

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Alexander L'Hiboux is a man who lives on the streets, who never sleeps, who never stops hunting his lawless prey. He is...
THE OWL
Haunted. Lethal. Unstoppable. Justice incarnate. The most daring and original hero in crime fiction in a scorching, action-packed adventure.
SCARLET SERENADE
It's the mean-streets of L.A. in the mid-1980s. When The Owl rescues a young punk-rock starlet from being kidnapped, he considered it just a minor good deed with a few dead bodies left scattered around. But he soon discovers that she's the target of a gangland conspiracy that has half of the city's underworld after her. Now the only thing between her and certain death is The Owl.
"Exhilarating! A pure action high unlike anything I've ever read before. The Owl is a cross between Batman and The Terminator...but he's even more deadly and relentless," Lee Goldberg, New York Times bestselling author of The Chase
"It starts off over the top and builds from there. There's action aplenty. The Owl absorbs more punishment than any two or three or four people in other novels," Bill Crider, author of Outrage at Blanco

216 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 1990

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Bob Forward

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5 stars
26 (28%)
4 stars
32 (35%)
3 stars
19 (21%)
2 stars
8 (8%)
1 star
5 (5%)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Profile Image for Icy_Space_Cobwebs  Join the Penguin Resistance!.
5,654 reviews330 followers
April 11, 2019
No, the title doesn't specifically refer to the amount of blood splatter in this book, though it might could. If possible, I enjoyed this second installment in the Alexander L'Hiboux/Owl series even more than the first, OWL: JUSTICE NEVER SLEEPS. "Owl" suffers from insomnolence, the inability to ever sleep, and has for the past nine years. He also has no home or vehicle, no permanent address (although his associate does operate an office ostensibly unrelated to the justice vigilante known as Owl). Like another series character, Dexter, Owl targets only the bad and the evil; and in SCARLET SERENADE he takes on some despicable villains, it is true.

Foiling the attempted kidnapping of a sixteen-year-old girl should have been a simple event; stop the abduction, get the girl home, Owl goes on about his life. Not so. He unfortunately does not have the backstory, nor even the current story, and once again he will be on the run for his life. What is new? A very twisty and convoluted plot with some great characters and some evil villains who deserve justice, that's what.
Profile Image for Icy_Space_Cobwebs  Join the Penguin Resistance!.
5,654 reviews330 followers
April 11, 2019
No, the title doesn't specifically refer to the amount of blood splatter in this book, though it might could. If possible, I enjoyed this second installment in the Alexander L'Hiboux/Owl series even more than the first, OWL: JUSTICE NEVER SLEEPS. "Owl" suffers from insomnolence, the inability to ever sleep, and has for the past nine years. He also has no home or vehicle, no permanent address (although his associate does operate an office ostensibly unrelated to the justice vigilante known as Owl). Like another series character, Dexter, Owl targets only the bad and the evil; and in SCARLET SERENADE he takes on some despicable villains, it is true.

Foiling the attempted kidnapping of a sixteen-year-old girl should have been a simple event; stop the abduction, get the girl home, Owl goes on about his life. Not so. He unfortunately does not have the backstory, nor even the current story, and once again he will be on the run for his life. What is new? A very twisty and convoluted plot with some great characters and some evil villains who deserve justice, that's what.
Profile Image for S.wagenaar.
102 reviews
December 20, 2024
I liked this one at least as much as the first, maybe even a little more, so it’s more along the lines of three and a half stars. The Owl kills pretty much every bad guy in L.A., and it’s a hoot reading about it in all it’s gore-soaked glory. You won’t get any smarter reading this book, but you’ll sure as hell be entertained. Recommended! 😎
Profile Image for Gary Sedivy.
528 reviews6 followers
October 30, 2019
A “hard boiled” mystery - which means no-frills writing. The hero doesn’t just fire his weapon, he grabs his .44 Magnum and BAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAM, the thug is blown away. Which pretty much is how the whole story goes. Decent plot, decent twists, improbable action, minimal dialogue.
An OK story.
Profile Image for Scott.
290 reviews7 followers
December 24, 2014
Brash Books deserves a heap of praise for bringing The Owl back from obscurity, and double so for the excellent sequel, Scarlet Serenade. You know the old trailers for sequels that promised "twice the action, twice the thrills!", etc? That is the case here.

The Owl thinks he is just being a Good Samaritan when he rescues a teen girl from a kidnapping attempt, but of course it isn't that easy. Soon the FBI, a drug cartel, and punk ninjas are all trying to kill him and get the girl. Back up a minute. Punk ninjas??? All I can say is: awesome!

The action is nonstop in this one and more of the focus than the mystery as in the first novel. The storyline is still engaging and filled with surprises, but if you don't enjoy combat scenes this isn't the book for you. Also welcome was another appearance by Danny and the progression of the relationship between she and The Owl.

Sadly there are no more The Owl novels, but better to have two classics than have the series drag on until it became a parody of itself as happened with so many men's adventure titles. The Owl is gone, long live The Owl! 5 stars.
82 reviews2 followers
January 1, 2015
I was so excited to find another book about The Owl. I was not disappointed with this book one bit. The plot was well written with plenty of twists and turns to keep me reading late into the night to see what would happen next. The Owl is a great character and I hope to see more books in this series. He is a tough guy with a big heart he keeps well hidden and well protected. The supporting characters are well developed and real.
I would recommend this to others. This is a great stand alone but I do recommend you read The Owl first. It is a great introduction to this character an I think you understand his motivations and his decisions in Scarlet Seranade better and makes it a more enjoyable read.
I was provided a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review of this book. This did not effect my review one way or the other. I am a fan of this author and this series and can't wait for more books by this author.
Profile Image for Philip Bailey.
400 reviews9 followers
August 17, 2015
Not a movie fan so I have never seen films such as “The Terminator” or “Die Hard” or any of those other action films. I can well imagine this book may have provided the script. Or maybe it was for “Superman”. While The Owl cannot leap over tall buildings apparently he can jump from the top of a multi-storied building, or crash through the window of same from the top floor with minimal inflicted harm. He is not faster than a speeding locomotive but can probably stop one on its tracks with a revolver that apparently fires RPGs. If no luck with the gun he will slice the wheels off the train with a knife that is faster than any bullet known to man. If you are into that kind of action then this book will bring great gobs of entertainment. As for the plot and the characters it is a decent read, even if over the top with the actions of the lead character.
Profile Image for T.W. Barton.
266 reviews22 followers
July 19, 2016
I stumbled onto this series and after reading the first book I was hooked.

I love a good vigilante book. Don't we all?

The Owl is the thing that gives the monsters of society nightmares.

Afflicted with the inability to sleep, The Owl is understandably not really a people person but he is a force that helps those unable or too weak to help themselves.

Sometimes he finds trouble and sometime it finds him as is the case in this book.

As they say no good deed goes unpunished. Although I would think that those on the receiving end of The Owl's attention might disagree with who is being punished.

A fantastic series of no holds barred adrenaline inducing death and destruction that I recommend whenever anyone asks for a good action/thriller book.
Profile Image for KyBunnies.
1,208 reviews9 followers
June 7, 2018
Really did not like this book. Did not feel the vigilante ringed true. Felt the characters and plot was weak. Will not read more if this turns into a series.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews

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