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Jack Carpenter #3
The Night Monster
The shadowy side of the Sunshine State, where blood runs cold even in the tropical heat, is the tantalizing, terrifying territory few know better than James Swain. His razor-sharp tales of criminals, cops, and South Florida—style suspense bite like a hungry gator and never let go.
The past has come back to haunt P.I. Jack Carpenter, former head of the Broward County Missing Persons Unit. As a young cop he failed to stop the kidnapping of a college coed by a shockingly large assailant–and neither of them was ever seen again. The abduction has remained Carpenter’s most chilling cold case, and even now the mystery of the missing girl lurks in his darkest dreams. But after eighteen years, it’s about to become terrifying reality once more.
When his daughter, Jessie, asks him to bird-dog a camera-toting creep who’s been shadowing her college basketball team, Carpenter’s hot pursuit of the video voyeur leads him smack into another run-in with his old hulking nemesis, who abducts one of Jessie’s teammates. While the Broward County cops are determined to pin the rap on a convenient suspect, Carpenter isn’t about to let grim history repeat itself–especially when he discovers a pattern of unsolved kidnappings involving the same massive perp.
With the eager assistance of the kidnap victim’s high-powered tycoon father, the uneasy cooperation of his old unit’s new commander, and precious little time before the trail goes cold, Jack and his trusty dog, Buster, hit the ground running. And they’ll need all the help they can get–including backup from an FBI man with a personal stake in the hunt–as they follow a twisted trail from the ruins of a shuttered mental asylum with an infamous past to the streets of a sinister small town with a ghastly secret.
With smooth-talking, uncompromising hero Jack Carpenter as guide, The Night Monster is an exhilarating journey into the heart of the American underworld. Bestselling author James Swain’s fiendish plotting and energetic pacing will keep you electrified straight through till morning.
The past has come back to haunt P.I. Jack Carpenter, former head of the Broward County Missing Persons Unit. As a young cop he failed to stop the kidnapping of a college coed by a shockingly large assailant–and neither of them was ever seen again. The abduction has remained Carpenter’s most chilling cold case, and even now the mystery of the missing girl lurks in his darkest dreams. But after eighteen years, it’s about to become terrifying reality once more.
When his daughter, Jessie, asks him to bird-dog a camera-toting creep who’s been shadowing her college basketball team, Carpenter’s hot pursuit of the video voyeur leads him smack into another run-in with his old hulking nemesis, who abducts one of Jessie’s teammates. While the Broward County cops are determined to pin the rap on a convenient suspect, Carpenter isn’t about to let grim history repeat itself–especially when he discovers a pattern of unsolved kidnappings involving the same massive perp.
With the eager assistance of the kidnap victim’s high-powered tycoon father, the uneasy cooperation of his old unit’s new commander, and precious little time before the trail goes cold, Jack and his trusty dog, Buster, hit the ground running. And they’ll need all the help they can get–including backup from an FBI man with a personal stake in the hunt–as they follow a twisted trail from the ruins of a shuttered mental asylum with an infamous past to the streets of a sinister small town with a ghastly secret.
With smooth-talking, uncompromising hero Jack Carpenter as guide, The Night Monster is an exhilarating journey into the heart of the American underworld. Bestselling author James Swain’s fiendish plotting and energetic pacing will keep you electrified straight through till morning.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 15, 2009
67 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
About the author
James Swain
49 books352 followersJames Swain is the national best selling author of seventeen mystery novels, and has been published in twelve different languages. His books have been chosen as Mysteries of the Year by Publisher’s Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, and have received three Barry Award nominations, a Florida Book Award for Fiction, and France’s prestigious Prix Calibre .38 for Best American Crime Fiction. Born in Huntington, New York, he graduated from New York University and worked as a magazine editor before moving to Florida to run a successful advertising firm. When he isn’t writing, he enjoys researching casino scams and cons, a subject on which he’s considered an expert.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
February 9, 2013
Another better novel than I thought it would be. James Swain is an excellent author. Any writer who can make a kidnapping story interesting without dwelling on the macrabe is worth their talent in writing. 8 of 10 stars
September 18, 2019
No more James Swain. Diving heroically into water to wrestle alligator killing autistic boy, former cop then heads out into his next escapade at behest of his basketball playing daughter to check on a stalker. A 6'10" 300-lb + foe that Jack is not smart enough to wait for police help to capture. And on go the mistakes and stupid moves plus stupidity of police.
That is enuf info for my memory banks to ensure that I do not read another Florida locale book.
DNF at 14% Wish I could share this with Larry Potash of WGN News who loves his "Florida" jokes.
Library Loan
That is enuf info for my memory banks to ensure that I do not read another Florida locale book.
DNF at 14% Wish I could share this with Larry Potash of WGN News who loves his "Florida" jokes.
Library Loan
October 1, 2012
This book was ridiculous!
Jack Carpenter is a former cop who now works as a PI specializing in finding missing children. The problem is he behaves as if he is one man police force and we're supposed to feel sorry for him when he ends up getting himself in a heap of trouble while making the desperate situation of kidnap victims even worse. with his foolhardy antics.
I should have sensed trouble when he singlehandedly rescued a lost autistic child from the jaws of an alligator. I mean, who does that and comes out of it with a few scrapes and bruises? Then during this daughter's collegiate basketball game he tries to apprehend a man suspected of stalking the team when he gets distracted...actually he stops interrogating the guy to cheer when his daughter makes the winning basket... then the guy knocks him to the ground and escapes. What a dope! He's in the middle of apprehending a suspect and stops to cheer his daughter? Save yourself the money and check this one out of the library before committing funds to its purchase.
Jack Carpenter is a former cop who now works as a PI specializing in finding missing children. The problem is he behaves as if he is one man police force and we're supposed to feel sorry for him when he ends up getting himself in a heap of trouble while making the desperate situation of kidnap victims even worse. with his foolhardy antics.
I should have sensed trouble when he singlehandedly rescued a lost autistic child from the jaws of an alligator. I mean, who does that and comes out of it with a few scrapes and bruises? Then during this daughter's collegiate basketball game he tries to apprehend a man suspected of stalking the team when he gets distracted...actually he stops interrogating the guy to cheer when his daughter makes the winning basket... then the guy knocks him to the ground and escapes. What a dope! He's in the middle of apprehending a suspect and stops to cheer his daughter? Save yourself the money and check this one out of the library before committing funds to its purchase.
September 17, 2020
Jack Carpenter witnessed something so devastating that it shook him to the core. He witnessed a violent kidnapping.
After a decade, Carpenter is still searching for the kidnapped victim.
Carpenter receives a telephone call from his daughter telling him a creepy man is hanging out at her practice and she tells him to keep an eye out for the man when he comes to the stadium to watch her basketball team play.
Carpenter soon learns he is against a culprit so demented and so violent that Carpenter is finding it difficult to take down the man and realizes he needs help.
There were a few inconsistencies that were missed by the book editor:
1) The fake reporter had filmed Carpenter’s victim and Carpenter’s daughter yet Carpenter didn’t see a need to provide protection for his daughter.
2) After being beaten up by the culprit Carpenter never changed his routine and kept getting beaten up.
3) Carpenter always had his police dog work with him but left his police dog in the car for a reason I couldn’t figure out when his dog could have helped him from getting beat up.
4) Carpenter called his FBI friend from the garage but when he found the missing cop and tried to call 911, the cop told Carpenter there was no cell service in the garage.
5) Carpenter had several opportunities to use his gun but always found a reason not to.
6)
Though there were these inconsistencies it was still a good story.
I normally enjoy Peter Jay Fernandez storytelling but didn’t connect with him in this book.
After a decade, Carpenter is still searching for the kidnapped victim.
Carpenter receives a telephone call from his daughter telling him a creepy man is hanging out at her practice and she tells him to keep an eye out for the man when he comes to the stadium to watch her basketball team play.
Carpenter soon learns he is against a culprit so demented and so violent that Carpenter is finding it difficult to take down the man and realizes he needs help.
There were a few inconsistencies that were missed by the book editor:
1) The fake reporter had filmed Carpenter’s victim and Carpenter’s daughter yet Carpenter didn’t see a need to provide protection for his daughter.
2) After being beaten up by the culprit Carpenter never changed his routine and kept getting beaten up.
3) Carpenter always had his police dog work with him but left his police dog in the car for a reason I couldn’t figure out when his dog could have helped him from getting beat up.
4) Carpenter called his FBI friend from the garage but when he found the missing cop and tried to call 911, the cop told Carpenter there was no cell service in the garage.
5) Carpenter had several opportunities to use his gun but always found a reason not to.
6)
Though there were these inconsistencies it was still a good story.
I normally enjoy Peter Jay Fernandez storytelling but didn’t connect with him in this book.
July 5, 2019
Hello 💙
And I finally decided to write a review and get this mission 😂 out of my system lol
Today’s book is very interesting and full of excitement
Our excellent writer James swain who is new for me wrote a very enthralling kidnapping story , in which the protagonist is jack carpenter ; an ex-cop who stills working on missing kids and his mind stills haunted with nightmares about the disappearance of the bleak girl Noami Dunn since 18 years that has been abducted in front of his eyes by a giant 😳 , since that time non saw neither the girl nor the giant ... however again , the gain appear and this time he abducted another Girl who is the friend of his daughter Jessie , and this time jack would no give up , that what would come next is just more delirious than what had happened ... this novel , jack himself I felt in love with , his personality , way of thinking ... adding to that , this book literally touches a psychological side and it is not just about the abduction, but the are more important things to learn 😍 life in Florida , cops in Florida and new places there and other things ...💙💙
December 21, 2012
Jack Carpenter has been haunted by the disappearance of Naomi Dunn since he witnessed her abduction 18 years ago. Now an ex-cop who assists the police in finding missing children, he is suddenly pulled back on the case full time when the same man abducts one of his daughter’s college basketball teammates. The man is a giant, estimated at six-foot-ten and 350 pounds, and has a small man for an accomplice. Chasing across Florida after the kidnappers with his loyal Australian shepherd Buster, Jack follows a series of clues and has several close calls with the villains. Along the way, he assists in several other cases that come across his path, sometimes rubbing his friends the wrong way but always coming through.
The characters were personable, the story was intriguing, and the action was fairly constant, but I did have a couple of complaints. Jack had a couple of very close calls attempting to rescue his daughter’s friend, but he allowed her to slip through his fingers a couple of times through frustrating inaction. After the second time it happened, followed by Jack’s attention being briefly diverted elsewhere on another case, I began to notice a pattern developing. I’m also not sure if irony was intended when, in one breath Jack admonishes that it’s every citizen’s duty to report to the police and then get out of the way while they do their job, then in the next wryly observes that cops are basically useless. These minor things aside, this was a page turner of a thriller with a story that had me hooked from the start. I found Jack Carpenter and his sidekick Buster to be likeable, too, though Jack goes a bit overboard on down-on-his-luck-ex-cop clichés. I’ve been a fan of Swain’s Tony Valentine series for a couple of years, and it was fun to see him make a cameo appearance. As usual, Swain delivers a high-quality, page-turning thriller that I can comfortably recommend.
The characters were personable, the story was intriguing, and the action was fairly constant, but I did have a couple of complaints. Jack had a couple of very close calls attempting to rescue his daughter’s friend, but he allowed her to slip through his fingers a couple of times through frustrating inaction. After the second time it happened, followed by Jack’s attention being briefly diverted elsewhere on another case, I began to notice a pattern developing. I’m also not sure if irony was intended when, in one breath Jack admonishes that it’s every citizen’s duty to report to the police and then get out of the way while they do their job, then in the next wryly observes that cops are basically useless. These minor things aside, this was a page turner of a thriller with a story that had me hooked from the start. I found Jack Carpenter and his sidekick Buster to be likeable, too, though Jack goes a bit overboard on down-on-his-luck-ex-cop clichés. I’ve been a fan of Swain’s Tony Valentine series for a couple of years, and it was fun to see him make a cameo appearance. As usual, Swain delivers a high-quality, page-turning thriller that I can comfortably recommend.
March 12, 2017
Suspenseful
I like all of the books in the Jack Carpenter series. They are hard to put down. I'm ready for the next.
I like all of the books in the Jack Carpenter series. They are hard to put down. I'm ready for the next.
September 18, 2018
Suspense with a great ending
All thru the story, the bad guys seem a step ahead. Great ending,when the good guys bring it to a close.
All thru the story, the bad guys seem a step ahead. Great ending,when the good guys bring it to a close.
July 20, 2019
A page turner. Swain is getting to be my favorite mystery writer! Right up there with Grisham and Connolly.
September 4, 2010
I liked the character of Jack Carpenter, but overall, I was disappointed in this story. A town that cuts off body parts to get money from an insurance company? Come on. And then, a kidnap victim that was probably repeatedly raped(although the book does not say so) by two men plays in her college basketball game a day or two later. I think a traumatized victim would need a little more recovery time than that.
Too incredible for me to take seriously.
Just my humble opinion.
Too incredible for me to take seriously.
Just my humble opinion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2009
I’m reading three other books, but my attention to them waned when I picked up Swain’s novel and read the first page. Talk about being drawn into a book. “The Night Monster” is one of those books that has the reader turning pages, faster and faster, hooked and anxious to see what will happen next.
See my full review on Amazon.
See my full review on Amazon.
September 22, 2020
This was utterly ridiculous! A very frustrating read with the 'hero' doing so many stupid things, I couldn't even count them! I give this 2 stars only because I liked his dog and the alligator wrestling part.
August 30, 2011
While it is not a literary masterpiece, it certainly is a page turner.
May 14, 2020
Private Detective Jack Carpenter is haunted by a specific cold case he couldn’t solve when he was a cop in Florida. He took what appeared to be a domestic violence call. Someone was beating a college coed, and she was screaming for help. When Carpenter arrived on the scene, a giant of a man drug the woman out of her apartment, summarily dispatched Carpenter to the ground, and flung the woman into a getaway vehicle. No one ever heard from her again. That was nearly two decades ago, and Carpenter’s daughter plays on a college basketball team. She told her dad that someone seemed to be stocking members of the team. Soon after that, someone abducts a nursing student and fellow teammate of Carpenter’s daughter, again under Carpenter’s nose, and that someone apparently was the same giant man who had taken the woman years earlier.
It’s up to Carpenter and his dog, Buster, to solve the case, and they do in grand style. There’s plenty of suspense here, and Swain’s writing style will keep you reading and involved in the book. I was unaware this was a series before I started the book, so you can read this without sacrificing much. That said, I’ve downloaded the backlist, and I’ll get to those at some point.
It’s up to Carpenter and his dog, Buster, to solve the case, and they do in grand style. There’s plenty of suspense here, and Swain’s writing style will keep you reading and involved in the book. I was unaware this was a series before I started the book, so you can read this without sacrificing much. That said, I’ve downloaded the backlist, and I’ll get to those at some point.
July 11, 2024
This was a pretty quick and easy read. The narrative was straightforward and to the point. The plot was well paced; unlike many thriller/detective novels, it wasn't full of hints and misdirects; the hints that were there were actually pretty obvious, it was just a question of the pieces being connected.
Everything conveniently happened at the right place, at the right time. There wasn't really any intrigue built up, and there was only one unexpected twist near the end of the book, which as kind of just dropped on the reader as if the author tacked it on to fill a blank. That twist was actually a bit ridiculous and unbelievable (kind of like the alligator fight), I may have snorted a bit when I read it.
The alligator fight was totally unnecessary to the story. The dog was just there as plot armor for Jack to discover certain things.
There wasn't really any depth to the characters, and I found it a bit weird that his college-aged daught called him "Daddy."
Overall, I enjoyed seeing Jack solve things, but there wasn't really anything that wow'ed me about the book. Pretty mediocre 3 stars, but I didn't hate it.
Everything conveniently happened at the right place, at the right time. There wasn't really any intrigue built up, and there was only one unexpected twist near the end of the book, which as kind of just dropped on the reader as if the author tacked it on to fill a blank. That twist was actually a bit ridiculous and unbelievable (kind of like the alligator fight), I may have snorted a bit when I read it.
The alligator fight was totally unnecessary to the story. The dog was just there as plot armor for Jack to discover certain things.
There wasn't really any depth to the characters, and I found it a bit weird that his college-aged daught called him "Daddy."
Overall, I enjoyed seeing Jack solve things, but there wasn't really anything that wow'ed me about the book. Pretty mediocre 3 stars, but I didn't hate it.
October 3, 2019
Hard to swallow story of a down-on-his-luck former police detective who now makes his living finding missing children... for money? He starts out wrasslin' an alligator to save an autistic kid, has many chances to stop the steroid created 300+lb bad-guy-giant and his mousy partner, but gets distracted (or intentionally lets the bad guys go) just to extend the story. Everybody loves this former cop (for some reason?) even though he violates the law and decent police procedure at every turn - lying to his closest friends/partners, roughing up suspects, charging in when he should wait for backup and retreating when he should press forward. He has a miracle dog that can track people by scent WHILE RIDING IN A CAR. And the big reveal at the end .... sheesh, what a mess. It's quick reading... I guess that's a plus.
January 19, 2019
Swain is a first class writer and, though I really like the Tony Valentine series best, this series with Jack Carpenter is nearly as good. Jack is an excellent detective who thinks quickly on his feet. He solves mostly child abductions using his deep knowledge of this crime niche. I like that he doesn't figure everything out on the computer and has to use old-fashioned footwork to move the case forward. The bad guys are a little unusual, but not so much. The dialogue is crisp and the story flows pretty smoothly. The narrative is plot focused, with few words spent on architecture, clothing, armaments, and stuff like that. Jack's personal life intrudes with some frequency, but always in an engaging and sometimes amusing way, so it does not distract from the basic story. For me, the last 20% was unsatisfying - not bad, but it felt contrived and artificial, in contrast to the rest of the book which was smooth.
September 5, 2023
Finished in just over 5 hours. I found this story about serial abductors fascinating.
Jack was once a young patrolman in the police force and answered a radio call for a disturbance at an apartment complex. Without waiting for back up he attempted to defuse the situation and was nearly knocked unconscious by the assailant who made off with a girl that was never seen again.
Almost twenty years later Jack is tracking down a suspicious man who is bothering someone very close to Jack. When Jack catches up to the man another abduction is occurring and Jack is once again incapacitated but still has trouble convincing the police that this is the same person he encountered years ago. With the police arresting the wrong person Jack must look elsewhere for someone he can trust to back him up and help him find this missing girl and others before her,
Jack was once a young patrolman in the police force and answered a radio call for a disturbance at an apartment complex. Without waiting for back up he attempted to defuse the situation and was nearly knocked unconscious by the assailant who made off with a girl that was never seen again.
Almost twenty years later Jack is tracking down a suspicious man who is bothering someone very close to Jack. When Jack catches up to the man another abduction is occurring and Jack is once again incapacitated but still has trouble convincing the police that this is the same person he encountered years ago. With the police arresting the wrong person Jack must look elsewhere for someone he can trust to back him up and help him find this missing girl and others before her,
March 25, 2019
I really like James Swain's writing. I haven't read any of his Jack Carpenter's series. but I didn't feel lost in his characters. He explains and introduces the characters very well, it seems he did a lot of research for his book regarding police procedures, the locations in Florida, and some tidbits here and there. I liked reading the backstory through this book, making want to know more about the mystery. I decided that I will keep reading his books.
August 15, 2022
This book is classic Jack Carpenter. He is a rogue ex-cop, whose desire to find missing persons overwhelms every other aspect of his life and personality. Like other Jack Carpenter books, this book is entertaining. It moves quickly, and has a lot of action. The characters in this book are not overly nuanced and every element of the story is not perfectly believable... but if you liked other Jack Carpenter books, The Night Monster will not disappoint.
April 6, 2025
This is a beach read, easy, breezy and forgettable. The detective and his trusty dog manage to find the evil guys who have been abducting athletic nursing students for over 18 years. Add to that the town filled with amputees who are scamming insurance companies. Of course, its all in Florida so I shouldn't be surprised. Fun, but nothing special.
April 2, 2022
Too much packed into this tiny book making it really unbelievable. I do appreciate that there wasn’t the (seemingly) obligatory romance as 9 times out of 10 those are contrived and pointless.
Oh, and the name of the books doesn’t exactly match which irks me a little
Oh, and the name of the books doesn’t exactly match which irks me a little
July 15, 2017
Another good Jack Carpenter novel.
January 1, 2018
could not put it down.
July 7, 2018
I haven't read James Swain in a while. I enjoyed this book, well written and faced paced.
April 5, 2019
Although this book moves along nicely; I wasn't too happy with the kinda weird situation with the town, Chatham.
August 19, 2019
Couldn't keep my attention
September 17, 2020
ACTION PACKED.
June 11, 2023
Always a good read from James Swain.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews