'Night Dogs' is a crime novel written over 20 years ago set in a period 20 years before that, yet it doesn't really seem dated. Yes, lots of forensic advances have taken place over the last 40 years that shape how police work is now performed, but the personalities and quirks of the law enforcement personnel, criminals, and everyday working folks are what really drive the action.

There are many unique aspects of Kent Anderson's 2nd book in his series that make it such a great one. The main character, Hanson, is a guy who doesn't undergo a typical character development sequence in the novel. You learn who he is by what he does, what he's thinking about before, after and during what he's doing, and though a few flashbacks to his previous life as a Special Forces soldier during the war in Vietnam. The book is almost entirely episodic and follows Hanson in his role as a cop in the Portland ghetto after his return from the war. He has a tough beat and a great partner. One theme involves a detective on the force who doesn't like Hanson and is trying to his best to get him out of the Department. Although this is a book without a traditional plot, that's one thread that follows through to the end.

The 70s were definitely a different era. No DNA, no video, no social media, lots of paper 'paperwork', fewer lawyers, lots of drugs and guns on the streets (maybe not so different....). 'Street justice' is dispensed when the police think it's appropriate based on a lack of confidence in the legal system. Hanson's character is a truly complex one. He's a badass as all Special Forces guys were, yet he doesn't push that side of himself to the front at all and tends to downplay his war experiences. Getting inside his mind as he and his partner are making insignificant, as well as life and death decisions at times, in the course of their daily routine is a real trip. They're balancing paperwork requirements, overtime restrictions, precinct boundaries, past experiences with the folks they're dealing with, compassion for the ghetto population vs. disgust at some of its inhabitants... it's a truly fascinating insight into how cops, or at least one cop at that point in time, think. Hanson has lots of problems and 'Night Dogs' succeeds in not only exposing them, but also showing how they've shaped and will continue to affect who he has become. He's definitely a flawed cop, but a very human one.

Anderson's writing is very sharp and his dialogue is excellent. As you might expect, there's a significant amount of violence and action, as well a some sex, involved. Night Dogs is a bit long but it moves quickly, with each relatively short chapter representing another 'day in the life'. Much of Hanson's character is determined by his war years, which I understand are covered in the initial book in this series. Can't wait to get to it! ( )

Raw, angry, powerful novel set in the dying days of the Vietnam War. Hanson is ex-Special Forces, a veteran of the war who has become a cop on the streets of Portland, Oregon. Revelling in the squalor, the violence and the adrenaline, Hanson waxes cynical about the world, but struggles with an inner conflict between his addiction to the power of violence and his soldier's certainty that it's the only way to get anything done, and his own soft, liberal heart, to paraphrase the late James Crumley's introduction. Encounters with pimps and whore, drug dealers and winos, psychotic lunatics and enemies on his own side of the law are punctuated with acts of random, brutal violence and occasional flashes of human warmth. More of a novel than a straightforward thriller, with a novel's structure and concerns, this is a portrait of a damaged man in a damaged world. Highly recommended. ( )

This is so far afield from what I generally read that I have little to compare it with. I don't read cop lit, ever. This was recommended to me by someone a long time ago, and so I picked it up on bookmooch.com and put it on the shelf. I have no idea why I threw it in my bag for a long flight. (When flying I generally opt for things so light they float.) Wow. This is not your average police procedural. It is gritty and raw and so painfully honest. Really it is more about reintegrating into American life after Vietnam - or maybe not reintegrating - than about police. It is about racism, and alpha male BS, it is about unimaginable lonliness even in a roomful of people, and taking control of the wrong things just so you have control of something. By book's end, the way I look at the world had been altered. It brought to mind one of my very favorite late 20th century books, The Things they Caarried (though it is very different other than the Vietnam theme). I recommend this unreservedly but it is not for those moments you are looking for something comforting or something with a true sense of resolution ( )

A lot of violence and death. A masterpiece. Hard to say why. You have to read it and "feel" it. It is so real and depressing but you can't stop reading. This book brings you down with it. ( )