Jenn's Review: Tryptich

Author: Karin Slaughter
Series: Will Trent #1
Publication Date:  July 26, 2006
Publisher: Dell
Pages: 480
Obtained: Amazon First
Genre:  Mystery, Crime
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: Solid start to a long standing series
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Summary: From Atlanta's wealthiest suburbs to its stark inner-city housing projects, a killer has crossed the boundaries of wealth and race. And the people who are chasing him must cross those boundaries, too. Among them is Michael Ormewood, a veteran detective whose marriage is hanging by a thread and whose arrogance and explosive temper are threatening his career. And Angie Polaski, a beautiful vice cop who was once Michael's lover before she became his enemy. But unbeknownst to both of them, another player has entered the game: a loser ex-con who has stumbled upon the killer's trail in the most coincidental of ways and who may be the key to breaking the case wide open. In this gritty, gripping firecracker of a novel, the author of the best-selling Grant County, Georgia, series breaks thrilling new ground, weaving together the threads of a complex, multilayered story with the skill of a master craftsman. Packed with body-bending switchbacks, searing psychological suspense and human emotions, Triptych ratchets up the tension one revelation at a time as it races to a shattering and unforgettable climax.

Review:  I wanted to read this because I recently stumbled across the show "Will Trent" and I have been loving it. It didn’t take me too long to remember I am not a fan of Karin Slaughter’s prose. Her metaphor-mania is enough to make me manic, but she has something with Will Trent. After I got past the few chapters of descriptive hyperbole, I found the thread of the show I’ve been enjoying so much. I do not enjoy switching points of view or knowing the killer before the characters do, so I’m hoping that won’t be a theme in this series.

I will give this series a chance because, although the TV show has taken liberties with the characters, I do like the premise. Will and Angie are fascinating studies of foster care at its worst growing into broken but functional adults. Would I have liked Angie as much if I hadn’t seen the show? Maybe not, but I have a feeling she would grow on me across the course of the series.

Jenn's Review: The Viper

Author: John Verdon
Series: Dave Gurney #8
Publication Date:  July 18, 223
Publisher: Counterpoint LLC
Pages: 400
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  Crime, Thriller 
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: Couldn't get it out of my head
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Summary: Pushed to his breaking point and accused of murder, retired NYPD detective Dave Gurney must face his greatest adversary yet to solve a mystery that is quickly tearing his world apart. Tennis bad boy Ziko Slade is serving twenty years for the grisly murder of small-time criminal Lenny Lerman. The facts of the case--and Slade's checkered past--seem indisputable. What begins as a cursory review of the case as a favor to Dave Gurney's wife's friend soon spirals into something much more complicated. When Gurney's involvement threatens to expose a viper's nest of corruption, he finds himself framed for murder and pursued by a sensational media, a ruthless district attorney, and a coldblooded killer. As he evades the law and attempts to solve the case to salvage his reputation, Gurney grapples with the realization that his unshakable need for police work is costing him more than the brilliant detective ever suspected. The Viper is the most shocking and riveting chapter yet in the internationally bestselling Dave Gurney series. ~amazon.com

Review: I have been a long time fan of this series and I returned to it for a comforting familiarity and a visit with old friends, but this installment of Dave Gurney was too unsettling.

After the last case I would have imagined Gurney becoming more protective of his wife and the effects of his investigations. Gurney seems to have become more recklessly obsessed with solving the case. True, this time she brought him the case, but he was blinded to the point of recklessness. This case brought out a darkness in Gurney. I missed his meticulous attention to detail and moral compass.

I have long thought Gurney and his wife were mismatched but being a bystander to the self destruction of their relationship was hard, more difficult than I imagined, actually.

Although the case is mostly resolved, there are a lot of open ends and unresolved issues. There is no neat ending here and many of the methodical fact gathering was abandoned. I realize I’m not meant to, but I don’t like where things were left. I hope none of the characters are broken beyond repair but it is a definite possibility. It was a difficult place to leave my Walnut Crossing friends and definitely not the comfort I was seeking.

Julie's Review: The Other Girl

Author: Erica Spindler
Series: None
Publication Date: August 22, 2017
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 256
Obtained: publisher via NetGalley
Genre:  Suspense, Crime
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: A great crime/suspense novel that doesn't rely on the unreliable narrator
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Summary: Officer Miranda Rader of the Harmony, Louisiana PD is known for her honesty, integrity, and steady hand in a crisis―but that wasn’t always so. Miranda comes from the town of Jasper, a place about the size of a good spit on a hot day, and her side of the tracks was the wrong one. She’s worked hard to earn the respect of her coworkers and the community. When Miranda and her partner are called to investigate the murder of one of the town’s most beloved college professors, they’re unprepared for the brutality of the scene. This murder is unlike any they’ve ever investigated, and just when Miranda thinks she’s seen the worst of it, she finds a piece of evidence that chills her to the core: a faded newspaper clipping about that terrible night fifteen years ago. The night she’d buried, along with her past and the girl she’d been back then. Until now that grave had stayed sealed…except for those times, in the deepest part of the night, when the nightmares came: of a crime no one believed happened and the screams of the girl they believed didn’t exist. Then another man turns up dead, this one a retired cop. Not just any cop―the one who took her statement that night. Two murders, two very different men, two killings that on the surface had nothing in common―except Miranda. ~amazon.com  

Review: The Other Girl is story that spins how our past can come back to haunt us and how it can effect our present lives. We are told the story of a recent murder through Detective Miranda Rader and how she's been tapped to lead the investigation. Miranda is the top detective in the force but when she see the clipping from an article about a crime that happened years ago, she starts to make some stupid mistakes.

Miranda starts to question how the pieces of this murder fit into the traumatic events in her past. Why has she been pulled into this? What is she going to do about it? Before she can learn any more, she's pulled off the case. Which lends itself to even more suspicion? If she's a strong detective, why pull her off?

Ms. Spindler weaves a quick moving suspense novel that will have you quickly turning the pages. You root for Miranda (and her with Jake). You want her to figure out why this is all coming down on her 15 years later. What ties her to the victim? As a woman you want her to stuff it to the old boys network and prove that the victim, while yes was murdered, that maybe he wasn't the person he wanted people to believe.

Fans of a crime/suspense novel won't want to miss this one. I will be checking out some of her other suspense novels.


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Julie's Review: Saving Jason

Author: Michael Sears
Series: Jason Stafford #3
Publication Date: February 2, 2016
Publisher: Putnam Books
Pages: 368
Obtained: Amazon Vince
Genre:  Crime, Thriller
Rating: 5.0
Bottom Line: Captivating
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Summary: Jason Stafford used to be a hot Wall Street trader, went too far, and paid for it in prison. Now a financial investigator, he’s been asked to look into rumors of a hostile takeover of his firm, but he has no idea it will turn his whole life upside down. Suddenly embroiled in a grand jury investigation of Mob-related activities on Wall Street, and threatened by some very serious men, he is thrust into witness protection with his young autistic son. And then his son disappears. Has he been kidnapped, or worse? With no choice but to act, Stafford has no choice but to come out of hiding and risk everything to save his son, his firm, his pregnant girlfriend—and himself  

Review: Saving Jason is book 3 in the  Jason Stafford series is always one of my favorite to pick up and escape in. Jason may not be the nicest or best guy, he's made some questionable choices in the past, but he's trying to change his life. His focus is making the best life he can for his son, affectionately called the Kid. They have a special bond and it gets even more cemented in the third novel.

As the novel opens,  Jason uncovers a scam at Becker Financial while looking at penny stock trades. Of course it can't just be something he can hand over to Compliance and let it go. He gets into the thick of it quick and of course it's unscrupulous. He lands his boss in jail, himself in WITSEC and puts people he knows in jeopardy. Not only that but if he lands charges for anything, he will find himself back in jail serving the remainder of his sentence.

It isn't so much the cases that keep me engaged in this series but the relationships that have developed from the cases. Now, don't get me wrong I find the predicaments that Jason gets himself into intriguing but how do you go from being a white-collar criminal to having the FBI listen to your theory and then put it in play? I also know this is fiction and I accept that as part of the deal of reading it.

I love the pace of these books and I always end up learning something about the financial world. I can't wait to see where we go next in the series.


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Alice's Review: The Secret Place

Author: Tana French
Series: Dublin Murder Squad
Publication Date: September 2, 2014
Publisher: Viking
Pages: 464
Obtained: publisher
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Mystery, Crime
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: A taut mystery that has other great elements
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Summary: The photo on the card shows a boy who was found murdered, a year ago, in the grounds of a girls boarding school in the leafy suburbs of Dublin. The caption says I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM. Detective Stephen Moran has been waiting for his chance to get a foot in the door of Dublins Murder Squad—and one morning, sixteen-yearold Holly Mackey brings him this photo. “The Secret Place,” a board where the girls at St Kildas School can pin up their secrets anonymously, is normally a mishmash of gossip and covert cruelty, but today someone has used it to reignite the stalled investigation into the murder of handsome, popular Chris Harper. Stephen joins forces with the abrasive Detective Antoinette Conway to find out who and why. But everything they find leads them back to Hollys group of close-knit friends and their fierce enemies, a rival clique—and to the tangled web of relationships that bound all the girls to Chris Harper. Every step in their direction turns up the pressure. Antoinette Conway is already suspicious of Stephens links to the Mackey family. St Kildas will go a long way to keep murder outside their walls. Hollys father, Detective Frank Mackey, is circling, ready to pounce if any of the new evidence points towards his daughter. And the private underworld of teenage girls can be more mysterious and more dangerous than either of the detectives imagined. The Secret Place is a powerful, haunting exploration of friendship and loyalty, and a gripping addition to the Dublin Murder Squad series. ~powells.com

Review:  Tana French is back with another intriguing installment of Dublin’s Murder Squad. Although I am not a huge fan of Mystery/Crime novels, I completely soak these in. I really enjoyed how different this novel was from her earlier work. This novel had a clear resolution whereas her others left something unanswered. The best part of this novel is the resurrection of one of my favorite literary characters, Frank Mackey.

I will seriously read anything, ANYTHING, that features Frank Mackey even in the smallest capacity. I love me some Frank. Give me an entire novel focused on him and I am in reading heaven. He can be so rough and crass and well, sometimes a jerk. I loved seeing him in what is probably his favorite role, Father.

Enough about my fictional husband, the meat and bones of this novel is about friendship. Any woman who had girlfriends understands the power that holds, especially when you are 16 and your life centers around these relationships. Tana French captured that beautifully. Each girl was so different, yet it was easy to see how they fit together. My favorite of the four was Julia. She had moxie, tough as nails, but probably the most sensitive of the bunch. She was the leader, the one who would go to bat for the others.

I enjoyed the mystery in The Secret Place. Tana French is a sorceress. She writes strong character driven mysteries where you are invested in their lives and situations. You open one of her novel and begin to read it, the next thing you know it is 4 hours later and you are elbows deep in a story you can’t tear yourself away from. There is a mystery you must get to the bottom of. Thankfully, there are one or two detectives asking all the right questions unraveling the mystery layer by layer. You don’t know who you can trust, you don’t know who is lying or who is telling you the truth. The only thing you do know is you are on one hell of a ride.

This isn’t the strongest of her work, but it’s still fantastic. I hope we have another go at the reluctant villain of this novel, Detective Stephen Moran. I didn’t envy his task and I can’t wait to see what comes next for him.
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Jenn's Review: Mr. Kiss and Tell

Author: Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham
Series: Veronica Mars #2
Publication Date: January 20, 2015
Publisher: Vintage Books
Pages: 336
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  Crime, Mystery
Rating: 4.0
Bottom Line: A must for Veronica Mars fans!
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Blurb:  The Neptune Grand has always been the seaside town’s ritziest hotel, despite the shady dealings and high-profile scandals that seem to follow its elite guests. When a woman claims that she was brutally assaulted in one of its rooms and left for dead by a staff member, the owners know that they have a potential powder keg on their hands. They turn to Veronica to disprove—or prove—the woman's story.

The case is a complicated mix of hard facts, mysterious occurrences, and uncooperative witnesses. The hotel refuses to turn over its reservation list and the victim won’t divulge who she was meeting that night. Add in the facts that the attack happened months ago, the victim’s memory is fuzzy, and there are holes in the hotel’s surveillance system, and Veronica has a convoluted mess on her hands. As she works to fill in the missing pieces, it becomes clear that someone is lying—but who? And why?

Review:  I adore Veronica Mars from the series right through to the fan funded movie.  There is just something about that snarky girl that I can never get enough of...  so it was an obvious choice to pick up the novels to continue where the movie left off. While I enjoyed the first book, The Thousand Dollar Man, it was a lot like reading a script in that we seemed to get only the surface details.  Mr. Kiss and Tell was more fleshed out and far more satisfying in the story telling department.

The case was one of Veronica's heavier ones but Rob Thomas has never shied away from tough topics.  Neptune is full of familiar characters and it's not surprising that this case centers around someone we've met before.  It's one of the many things I love about this franchise.  The characters go on existing in Rob Thomas's world and every  once and a while we get a glimpse of them.  Although sometimes, this time, it can be a little heartbreaking.

Logan and Veronica fans said there wasn't enough Logan last novel.  While this is remedied in Mr. Kiss and Tell, Rob Thomas can't seem to stop poking at their relationship.  It's like he keeps throwing cherry bombs at it hoping to trigger a bigger explosion.  Now it is Logan who is stable and Veronica who is floundering.  I LoVe Logan and Veronica together but I'm not sure that Rob Thomas knows how to write them happy.

This is a series I can't stay away from ...and if this is the only way to get my Veronica Mars fix from now on, besides re-watching the DVDs, I'm okay with that.  Would you like this if you aren't a VM fan?  Yes.  I don't think the first book worked outside the VM realm, but the second one is solidly written.  You will miss all the references though and if you aren't a Veronica Mars fan, why the heck not?!?

 

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Jenn's Review: The Silkworm

Author: Robert Galbraith (Pseudonym), J.K. Rowling
Series: Cormoran Strike #2
Publication Date: June 24, 2014
Publisher: Mulholland Books
Pages: 455
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  Crime, Mystert
Rating: 5/5
Bottom Line: Captivating
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Blurb:  When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, Mrs. Quine just thinks her husband has gone off by himself for a few days—as he has done before—and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home.

But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realizes. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were to be published, it would ruin lives—meaning that there are a lot of people who might want him silenced.

When Quine is found brutally murdered under bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any Strike has encountered before... 

  Review:   Rowling as Galbraith is just as enthralling as Rowling as Rowling. There is something engaging about the worlds and characters she creates that makes them captivating. I’ve actually been saving this novel for a while because I knew I’d be disappointed to have to wait for the next installment… and I am.

Cormoron has been busy since the Landry case, although for once he’s not scrambling for cases, he’s scrambling to keep up with his caseload. Yet when Mrs. Quine walks into his office with an odd request that may or maynot recompense, Strike feels inclined to take on her case. From the beginning nothing plays quite right with the case and as the idiosyncrasies mount, Cormoran gets pulled further into the case.

Robin is frustrated at home and at work. Her fiancée continues to disparage her career choice and her association with Strike in general. Strike, sensing the tension, has been trying to shift investigative responsibilities away from Robin which is making her miserable as that’s the part of her job she enjoys most. When Strike is forced to rely on her, Robin does her best to prove her value but her extra efforts will not go unnoticed on the home front.

As per usual, I had no idea where the mystery was headed. The twists and turns had me completely flummoxed… and thoroughly intrigued. I had a difficult time putting it down. If you are looking for spellbinding contemporary crime novels with realistic characters the Cormoran Strike series is definitely for you.

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Jenn's Review: The Private School Murders

Author: James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
Series: Confessions #2
Publication Date: October 7, 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Pages: 448
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  YA Crime
Rating: 4.0
Bottom Line: Not as riveting as the first, but still captivating
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Blurb:  In the sequel to the #1 New York Times bestseller Confessions of a Murder Suspect, James Patterson keeps the confessions coming breathlessly as Tandy Angel delves deeper into her own tumultuous history-and proves that she can rise above the sordid Angel legacy.

Wealthy young women are being murdered on Manhattan's exclusive Upper West Side, and the police aren't looking for answers in the right places. Enter Tandy Angel. The first case she cracked was the mystery of her parents' deaths. Now, while she's working to exonerate her brother of his glamorous girlfriend's homicide, she's driven to get involved in the West Side murder spree. 

One of the recent victims was a student at Tandy's own elite school. She has a hunch it may be the work of a serial killer, but the NYPD isn't listening to her...and Tandy can't ignore the disturbing fact that she perfectly fits the profile of the killer's targets. Can she untangle the mysteries in time? Or will she be the next victim?

Review:  I knew going into this novel that it would be hard to replicate the intensity of the first novel.  Tandy is no longer considering herself a suspect in a murder investigation so the heat is off, so to speak.  The anomalism of her siblings is also no longer under the microscope.  This novel focuses much more on Tandy.

While her detective business is not going as well as she hoped --oddly few people want to hire someone her age to investigate regardless of her abilities-- Tandy does have a few cases to work on:  her older brother is on trial for murder, she still doesn't know the whereabouts of the boy she fell in love with, and someone has murdered a classmate.  I was a little surprised how little interest Tandy took in investigating her brother's case.  She seems quite content just being there to support Matt which is certainly new for her.

More of Tandy's memory is returning to her slowly and James is ever on her mind.  Her investigation into the disappearance of the boy she is beginning to remember is hitting road blocks she never imagined.  There is also the mysterious appearance of a new guardian and a rash of near death encounters in the luxury apartment complex to deal with.

Poking around in an ongoing police investigations never wins you popularity with the NYPD, but luckily Tandy knows a detective or two following the investigation of her parent's death and has earned some respect.  They might look into her serial killer theory, but they would be more likely to follow up on it if she could just find a little proof.

Of course the ending is full of new discoveries and once again nothing is quite what it seems.  It is quite the hook into The Paris Mysteries.  I enjoyed the focus on Tandy in this novel but I must admit that I did miss her siblings a little as they have shifted from the forefront.  Their family dynamic is so unique. I am hoping they are more present in the next book but I know one way or another it will be fascinating.  Actually, I can't wait to find out...


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Julie's Review: Long Way Down

Author: Michael Sears
Series: Jason Stafford #3
Publication Date: February 5, 2015
Publisher: Putnam
Pages: 352
Obtained: Amazon Vine
Genre:  Thriller, Crime
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: Another great installment that gives you an insight into white collar crimes and murder thrown in for extra excitement
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Summary: He approached me in the street—bone-thin, gray-bearded, holding out a small envelope. “The man said you’d give me five bucks for it.” Inside was a one-word message: RUN. Two years in a federal prison has changed Jason Stafford, is still changing him, but one thing it has taught him as a financial investigator is how to detect a lie. He doesn’t think Philip Haley is lying. An engineer on the verge of a biofuel breakthrough, Haley has been indicted for insider trading on his own company, and Stafford believes him when he says he’s been set up. Haley does indeed have enemies. He is not a nice man. Doesn’t make him a criminal. It does make him dangerous to be around, though. The deeper Stafford investigates, the more secrets he starts to uncover, secrets people would kill for. And that’s exactly what happens. Soon, it is Stafford himself who is under attack and, worse, his family—his fiancée, his young son—and he is a fugitive, desperately trying to stay one step ahead of both the killers and the law. ~amazon.com

Review: Long Way Down, is the 3rd in the Jason Stafford series. With each book, Mr. Sears' writing gets stronger. Jason Stafford is a fantastic character. He admits his flaws and acknowledges that he's not innocent. For me, that's what makes him a great character. He's not squeaky clean, which adds an edge to him.

It's the interaction with his family, his son, specifically that redeems him. Although, when he's working a case he tends to get wrapped up in it, which can cause some issues with safety for himself and his family. This case centers around a wealthy-man who is accused of insider trading who, of course, claims he is innocent. Jason is hired by the man's bank to see if he is innocent and if so, how do they clear him?

Of course, things aren't always as they appear and the further Jason digs into the rabbit hole, the more he falls in it. He's not sure who he can trust and not sure who to share his information with.

Long Way Down is a quick and enthralling thriller and this case highlights Jason's knowledge of the financial markets. It also deepens his relationship with The Kid and his fiance, Skeli. There is also a great cast of secondary characters that help to add a bit of humor to the mix. Sometimes a bit of levity is needed when you are on the run.

Mr. Sears writes white collar crime, specifically financial crimes, so that the reader can understand it. These are crimes that are not always easy to understand. Obviously, his financial background helps in this manner. 
I can't wait to see what's next for Jason and his friends.


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Julie's Review: The Purity of Vengeance

Author: Jussi Adler-Olsen
Series: Department Q #4
Publication Date: December 13, 2013
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Pages: 512
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  Crime
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: A bit gruesome but another interesting development with the characters
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Summary: In 1987, Nete Hermansen plans revenge on those who abused her in her youth, including Curt Wad, a charismatic surgeon who was part of a movement to sterilize wayward girls in 1950s Denmark. More than twenty years later, Detective Carl Mørck already has plenty on his mind when he is presented with the case of a brothel owner, a woman named Rita, who went missing in the eighties: New evidence has emerged in the case that destroyed the lives of his two partners—the case that sent Carl to Department Q. But when Carl’s assistants, Assad and Rose, learn that numerous other people disappeared around the same weekend as Rita, Carl takes notice. As they sift through the disappearances, they get closer and closer to Curt Wad, who is more determined than ever to see the vision of his youth take hold and whose brutal treatment of Nete and others like her is only one small part of his capacity for evil. ~amazon.com  


Review: If you haven't read any of the Department Q novels, you really do need to start at the beginning to get the full inner workings of Carl, Rose and Assad. The cases are interesting but that's not what keeps me coming back to this series, it's the relationships.

 The Purity of Vengeance focuses on a cold case of 4 missing people and it leads the team down a difficult path. As a reader, your heart breaks over for Nete's path in life. She really has been dealt a crappy hand in life. Just when she thinks things are going to get better and her life has turned out for the better, it all goes down the rabbit hole. So she decides to get her revenge on the people who she feel cause her life to go wrong. As wrong as it is, I have to say that based on the story we are told these people were scum of the earth. I'm not saying that what Nete did was appropriate but part of me felt vindicated for her.

Mr. Adler-Olsen knows how to weave a story and build the character's stories. In each book we learn something more about the key players and this one focuses on Rose. I'm guessing that Mr. Adler-Olsen gets his novel ideas from the news and then fictionizes it.

For fans of Swedish Crime/Noir novels, you really should pick up the Department Q series. It is everything you want: dark, brutal, engaging and well drawn characters. I can't wait to get my hands on the next one in the series.

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Jenn's Review: Peter Pan Must Die

Author: John Verdon
Series: Dave Gurney #4
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
Publisher: Crown
Pages: 448
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  Crime/Suspense
Rating: 5.0
Bottom Line: Another Captivating Crime Novel in the Series
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 Blurb:  In John Verdon’s most sensationally twisty novel yet, ingenious puzzle solver Dave Gurney brings his analytical brilliance to a shocking murder that couldn’t have been committed the way the police say it was.

The daunting task that confronts Gurney, once the NYPD’s top homicide cop: determining the guilt or innocence of a woman already convicted of shooting her charismatic politician husband -- who was felled by a rifle bullet to the brain while delivering the eulogy at his own mother’s funeral. 

Peeling back the layers, Gurney quickly finds himself waging a dangerous battle of wits with a thoroughly corrupt investigator, a disturbingly cordial mob boss, a gorgeous young temptress, and a bizarre assassin whose child-like appearance has earned him the nickname Peter Pan.

Startling twists and turns occur in rapid-fire sequence, and soon Gurney is locked inside one of the darkest cases of his career – one in which multiple murders are merely the deceptive surface under which rests a scaffolding of pure evil. Beneath the tangle of poisonous lies, Gurney discovers that the truth is more shocking than anyone had imagined.

And the identity of the villain at the mystery’s center turns out to be the biggest shock of all.

Review:  There are very few mystery writers that keep me in suspense, and John Verdon is one of them.  I discovered John Verdon through a publicist and he has proven himself to be one of my must read authors.  His novels are layers of puzzles and I love that about them.

It is interesting to see Hardwick out of his element, and just a little scary.  He's always been a cynical cowboy, but now he's bitter, vengeful loose cannon.  The addition of Esti Moreno, his girlfriend, is a surprising one, perhaps because I don't view Jack Hardwick as someone who is emotionally or romantically avaible.  She may be a bit of a plot device, giving Harwick and Gurney inside police access, however, Esti acts as a nice buffer between and helps keep the story flowing as well.

Gurney's single-mided determination to catch the uncatchable has become an obsession,  Usually, I find Madeline's desire to push Dave out of his comfort zone and psychoanalyze him to be annoying.  I understand hyperfocus, and introversion, and Madeline is finally starting to accept that about her husband.  But on one point, for once, I agree with Madeline: Gurney has a recklessness in the face of danger that is going to get him killed.  This is honestly the first time I've ever questioned his judgement.

The solution to the cold case is quite simple once you know it, but getting there was an incredible journey.  Honestly, I was surprised that I didn't see it sooner, but the case has been so obscured by tainted investigation and inaccurate assumptions, that it was difficult to see through the murk.  Once again, John Verdon had me completely captivated.

If you appreciate a good crime novel, you must check out the Dave Gurney series!  

 

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