The Portland Laugher

Thomas Black #7

by Earl Emerson

The menacing phone calls from a maniacally laughing stranger haunt Seattle private eye Thomas Black as he lies partially paralyzed in the hospital - plagued with memory loss and a monstrous sense of doom. Black must piece together the shards of an investigation that nearly killed him. And through the haze of nightmarish recollection, he starts to remember.... A curious couple offers Black a strange proposal: play guardian angel to an unlikely stalking victim - Billy Battle, a brooding ex-con with a psychotic history of unproven murder and mayhem. Hot on Billy's crooked trail is the straight-arrow ex-neighbor who helped send him up the river, and who just may want Billy dead for his own peace of mind. Then the mysterious, diabolical laugher on the phone extends his campaign of terror to Thomas Black, convincing the wily P.I. that he's getting close to something. But exactly what, he doesn't know. As Black wades deeper into a secret world of sadistic murder and pure evil, he finds himself up against an adversary far deadlier than he had ever imagined. And Black can't help but wonder if the last, wicked laugh will be on him....

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Detective

344 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Earl Emerson is a lieutenant in the Seattle Fire Department. He is the Shamus Award-winning author of Vertical Burn, as well as the Thomas Black detective series. He lives in North Bend, Washington.

Reviews

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this story more than I did.

Taking place in Seattle, it follows the misadventures of Thomas Black an ex-Seattle cop now a private investigator who is asked to protect an ex-con, Billy Battle.

The story unwinds from there as a flashback from Black's hospital bed where he is unconscious and supposedly in a coma. The plot is complex enough but most of the characters, though weird, are cardboard and not really believable.

The ending is also somewhat unbelievable but does tie up all the loose ends. I have another Emerson book in my inventory and I'll give it a try. Maybe this one was an anomaly.

[Donna Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was astonished to see how few people had read or reviewed this novel and the series whence it came. I have rarely had a writer set the hairs on the backs of my arms on edge in the way he does. I wish he would write more. I wish he would write faster (but still just as well!).

The Thomas Black series is a real roller coaster if ever there was one, with bits of whimsy tossed in now and then to break up the tension...but not for long.

Warning: if you have ever really been stalked, you may want to give this one a miss.

[LJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE PORTLAND LAUGHER - Ex
Emerson, Earl - 7th in Thomas Black series

Playing guardian angel to a psycho ex-con and alleged murderer is no laughing matter for Seattle P.I. Thomas Black. It gets him battered, hospitalized, and stalked by a laughing madman playing a deadly game.

This is my favorite of all Emerson's books.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good to re-read this since we just were in Seattle again. Good characterization, good writing, good local color. Plot twists in this one ranged from obvious to a bit obscure. I see the author has written a few more in this series lately.

[aPriL does feral sometimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

( O _ O ). Yes, I guessed who it was, but never mind. Kathy, you are a fool. Poor Thomas. Definitely the bleakest one so far, also the most exciting and awful.

[Richard Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Earl Emerson has written a complex serial killer mystery with a whole lot of interesting connections to different parts of Seattle and Portland. The nice thing about authors who pick areas outside of New York, Chicago, San Farancisco or L.A. for their novels, is that you are tempted to go get a map and find out a little bit about another big city where crime can take place just as easily and conveniently for a killer as in one of the big '4' and have all the etrappings of a really great story. I liked all the familial connections in the 'Laugher' and I likes the back and forth transitions: from the hospital bed to the street, from the inner city offices to the small neighborhoods in Seattle, and from the love/friendship/hate triangle that exists between the leading characters. I felt the ending was a bit contrived, although it was exciting and our hero wins out in the end, although I should think he has a few nightmares still about all of the twists that get him into tight places with the hunt for this serial killer of two cities.

[Cherie Waggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Portland Laugher was the first book by Earl W. Emerson that I read somewhere between 1995-2000. Because of this book, I was hooked on the Thomas Black mysteries and searched bookstores and used bookstores to gather all of the Thomas Black series. Unfortunately, if there have been any since Deception Bay, I haven't been able to get them. I don't get to spend as much time in bookstores as I once did. While collecting the Thomas Black series, I also began collecting Emerson's Mac Fontana series. Thomas Black became sort of an inspiration for my own P.I. Philip Chandler.

[David C Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overcomplicated. Also everyone is after the wrong suspect(s). Black habitually gets bamboozled by good intentions and can be counted on to be just a little slow. . . The weird part of this one is the sudden emergence of Philip, Kathy’s fiancée and Black’s rival, as a near pathological liar and a possible murder suspect. Most mysteries involve a fairly closed circle but this seems a bit much.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emerson took a few stylistic risks with this one. There were a few that didn't pay off as well as, I suspect, he wanted them to, but for the most part, the changes to his usual formula did precisely what they should have done.

The last paragraph of the book is one of the best ending paragraphs I have ever read.

[Idaho99 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but a little more complicated than it needed to be.

[Bright Boy Books]

1 paperback, 1 hardback

[Bill Yarbrough · Rating 5 out of 5]

9.5 out of 10 stars. Twists and turns but found the evil psycho. Definitely have to read the next book in the series now, because the ending was different than I expected.

[Katherine Strom]

I'm not so sure I love Kathy as much as I thought I did after this one.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#7 in the Thomas Black series. Thomas is a private detective working for lawyer Kathy Birchfield.

Thomas Black is hired to follow Kathy's fiancé, Philip, who is following a just released convict. The parolee was convicted in part by Philip's testimony and Philip claims to be worried about retribution against himself and the other witnesses. One of Thomas' clients was having an affair with Philip at the time the parolee assaulted his step-brother, Thomas' other client.

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Thomas Black entry, my favorite of the entire series, so far. Thomas is hired to tail Kathy's fiance, a phony who might also be a murderer, and almost ruins his friendship with Kathy. The only thing I didn't like: Kathy comes off as not too bright in this one. Very exciting with lots of plot twists and strange characters. Highly recommended.

[Perri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Earl Emerson...why did I waste so much time on this book!!!? I kept hoping it would make sense. I really like your characters, the setting and in your other novels I even knew what the (blank) you were writing about! Oh, Earl....don't count on me to read the sequel!!! Sincerely, Perri

[Andy Plonka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas Black is an interesting protagonist, at times a nice guy that seems put upon, at times not so nice after all. I tried to read this series years ago without success, but I seem to have changed my taste as I age, so I think I'll try some more.

[Lglubb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second Earl Emerson book I've read. The first, Primal Scream, I didn't like particularly, but I was encouraged to read one of his Thomas Black series and I'm pleased I did. It's a well paced, interesting mystery, and I'm sure I'll look for another.

[Mitzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Earl Emerson, the Seattle firefighter who writes the Thomas Black series, has another winner. A somewhat strange story about murder and stalkers, it held my interest and I read it in record time~

[Jenene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series!

[Dale Rosso]

Great entry in the Thomas Black series.

[Furnison · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.7 Plot not believable

[Wanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

a little confusing at first but still enjoyed it.