Los Angeles is in a downward spiral of growing crime, with rising murder and thefts fueled by gang warfare, the only beneficiaries being the TV news stations who get to broadcast the bad news on a daily basis. But one day Christian news anchor Paul Thomas makes the on air suggestion for a "Light the Night" scheme, in which the people of LA rise up to light the city and fight crime. That's the main premise of this novel, and what happens next is entirely implausible: citizens band together to successfully reduce crime. Is it really that simple in real life? In John Culea's novel, that's all it takes, and this flimsy plot-line is accompanied by cardboard characters who are good or evil to the point of complete cheesiness. It's hard work making it through the 389 pages of this book, the only real redeeming quality being the way this novel shows how TV stations have an all-consuming obsession with ratings. The author is a TV reporter, so this is a world that he knows, but its unfortunate that the story and characters are dreadful. Don't bother. - GODLY GADFLY