Tag: Mysteries

Endangered by C. J. Box Joe Pickett Series # 15

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Endangered - C.J. Box Joe Pickett

 

Stealing an idea for a friend of Goodreads, I am going to start this review with the first paragraph of Endangered the latest Joe Pickett novel from C.J. Box….

When Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett received the call every parent dreads, he was standing knee-high in thick sagebrush, counting the carcasses of sage grouse. He was up to twenty-one

That simple paragraph sets the stage for the whole book and tells the new reader a lot about Joe Pickett. For those who don’t know Joe it lets you know that he lives in Wyoming and he is a game warden, but it also tells you that he is a caring parent Throughout the fifteen plus books in the series, Joe’s wife Mary Beth and children Sheridan, Lucy and April have been there, along with Joe’s mother-in-law Missy.now Templeton and Joe’s right-hand man and the families protector Nate Romanowski..If you do know Joe you know that the presence of those dead sage grouse will not make Joe happy and he won’t quit until h discovers who killed them. Oh and also that their slaughter may be associated with the book’s title Endangered.

The call Joe received told him that a young girl was found badly beaten in a roadside ditch and she looked like his adopted daughter April. April had runaway a while back with a young rodeo star Dallas Cates. Joe never liked Dallas who was a member of a family that Joe has had numerous run ins with as game warden. Dallas of course is the prime suspect and Joe is out to make sure he pays for his crime!!

Meanwhile Joe’s friend Nate Romanowski, an ex-special forces soldier is set to be released from prison and used as bait to flush out the missing Wolfgang Templeton whose murder for hire business Nate had worked for (see Stone Cold) Soon after Nate is released he is ambushed and shot!!

Soon Joe has a lot of problems – will April survive and did Dallas beat her? To solve that puzzle Joe has to go up against the Cates family and that is no easy task. Led by Mama Brenda the family is about as dysfunctional as you can get. Dallas brother Bull lost his livelihood thanks to you know who – yes Joe Pickett.and brother Timber is in prison!!

Joe also has to worry about Nate. Could what happen to Nate and April be related??? And don’t forget those sage grouse. The species were ready to be placed on the endangered species list so a lot of people have a reason to eliminate members of the dwindling species, but who did it??

Joe won’t quit until he finds out and this time finding out just may cost Joe his life!!

Bottom Line: Endangered is a winner!! Several books ago I set aside Cold Wind. I just couldn’t get into it and I thought that I would quit this series. But since then C J Box has come back roaring with four great books and Endangered may be the best of the four! Bookpage says….

“C.J. Box moves from strength to strength with each new installment. I would say that he is at the top of his form, but the top just keeps moving ever upward”

How true. Endangered was a real page-turner for me. The plot kept me in suspense to the last pages, and of course the characters that Pickett has created along the way are a vivid and real as it gets. You know, it’s hard some time to remember that Joe and his family are not real!! Since I have to wait a bit for the next Joe Picket book I think I’ll check out The Highway a stand alone that features Cody Hoyt from previous Joe Pickett books!!.’

Links for Further Explorations of C J Box

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Amazon

Dreamless – Jorgen Brekke

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Dreamless (Book 2 – Odd Singsaker Series)

 

Dreamless is the second book  from Norwegian author Jorgen Brekke and it’s a good one. The setting of the book is Trondheim Norway and the main character of the series is Chief Inspector Odd Singsaker. The book follows up where book one Where Monsters Dwell left off. Odd is still recovering and ,dealing with the effects of his brain tumor. He is now married to former American police officer Felicia Stone. All of the characters are still dealing with the aftershocks of the prior murder investigation, only to be immersed in an even more bizarre investigation, The new investigation starts when a young woman is found murdered,  her larynx has been removed and a music box stuffed in its place!!  The music box is playing a beautiful lullaby that no one has ever heard!

When the killer snatches another victim this one a teenage girl with a beautiful voice, Odd and his force know that they must find the girl quickly or she will meet the same fate as the first victim. But the question is why?? What is the ultimate objective of the killer? Is it murder for murder’s sake or does he want something more from these women something that revolves around the lullaby and its history??

The history of the lullaby is told in a series of flashbacks side by side with the modern story. That story involves the solving of another murder that of a young troubadour from Sweden who is found dead in Trondheim in 1767! The troubadour is the composer of the lullaby whose claim to fame is that it sends any listener into a long and blissful sleep. The mystery of the troubadour’s grisly murder must be solved by the Chief of Police Nils Bayer. Bayer not only fights to discover the murderer but also his addiction to alcohol!

Bottom Line: Dreamless is a great read and I can’t wait until I can get my hands on the next adventure of Odd Singsaker. See while Odd was tracking down the killer he was also having person problems stemming from his actions in book one of the series, and at the end of  Dreamless things were not resolved between Odd and Felicia! We need to know!!

I enjoy the way Brekke has blended current events with history in both books. The characters Odd and all his friends and co-workers are great and the mysteries are intricately plotted and the action fast paced with the final resolutions of both story lines finishing on the final pages, leaving you gasping and ready  for more!! Fans of Jo Nesbo, and Karin Fossum will love this one!

Links for Further Explorations

Website: MacMillan: Odd Singsaker
Amazon: Jorgen Brekke Page
Dreamless
Goodreads:Jorgen Brekke
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Book 16 for 2015 – 10 on a goal of 23 for the Cloak & Dagger  Reading Challenge!

 

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Linwood Barclay – Zack Walker Series and Standalone Thrillers

 

Back in 2007 I meet an interesting character Zack Walker, who was a detective who made some Bad Moves and got involved with some Bad Guys and had four great adventures. Then his creator Linwood Barclay wrote two books Too Close to Home and No Time for Goodbye which outsold  the Zack Walker books by a lot and put Linwood Barclay on the map as a major stand alone thriller writer!! And while I may one of the few who still miss Zack Walker Linwood’s thrillers are terrific.

From Wikipedia:

Linwood Barclay (born 1955) is an American-born Canadian author, noted as a novelist, humourist, and (former) columnist. His popular detective novels are bestsellers in Canada and internationally, beginning with No Time for Goodbye in 2007.

He was born in Darien, Connecticut, son of Muriel and Everett Barclay. His father was a professional illustrator who moved his family to Canada in 1959 where he had accepted a job with William R. Templeton Studios in Toronto. In 1966 the Barclay family purchased a vacation campground in Bobcageon, Ontario, which they ran for about five years until the death of his father from lung cancer.

Born: 1955, Connecticut
Education: Trent University
Nominations: Barry Award for Best Thriller, Shamus Award for Best Original P.I. Paperback

First Read – 2005
I Will Ruin You- Linwood Barclay
Most Recent Read – 2024

Standalone -Linwood Barclay Novels Read….

TitleYear PublishedDate ReadNotes/Reviews
I Will Ruin You20242024/08/06
The Lie Maker20232023/06/30
Take Your Breath Away20222022/07/28
Find You First20212021/07/01
Elevator Pitch20192019/11/18
A Noise Downstairs20182019/01/27
Parting Shot (Promise Falls, #4)20172018/02/11Post
The Twenty-Three (Promise Falls, #3)20162016/11/21
Far From True (Promise Falls, #2)20162016/04/16Post
Broken Promise (Promise Falls, #1)20152015/10/03
No Safe House (No Time For Goodbye, #2)20142014/09/10Post
A Tap on the Window20132013/12/14Post
Trust Your Eyes20122013/02/16Post
Never Look Away20102010/06/22Post
Fear the Worst20092010/04/17Post
Too Close to Home20082009/09/28
No Time for Goodbye (No Time For Goodbye, #1)20072010/04/13Post

 Zack Walker Series

Stone Rain (Zack Walker #4)20072010/01/01
Lone Wolf (Zack Walker #3)20062009/12/28
Bad Guys (Zack Walker, #2)20052009/10/04
Bad Move (Zack Walker #1)20052008/06/28

Don’t Talk to Strangers (Keye Street Series # 3) – Amanda Kyle Williams

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So I wasn’t really sure about Amanda Kyle Williams Keye Street series after book one TheStranger You Seek, But I liked the book enough to move onto book two in the series Stranger in the Room. In that book, as Keye and Atlanta Police Detective Aaron Rauser chased the Wishbone Killer, and I became a fan of Keye Street. Now after reading Don’t Talk to Strangers Keye Street has joined Alex Kava’s Maggie O’Dell, Carol O’Connell‘s Kathleen Mallory and Tess Gerritsen‘s Jane Rizzoli, among my favorite female protagonists!

In book three of the series, Keye Street leaves the streets of Atlanta and her new live-in boyfriend Rauser for the rural confines of Whisper, Georgia, Sheriff Ken Meltzer of Hitchiti County in which Whisper lays, calls Keye in as a consultant on the murder of two thirteen year-old girls brutally murdered years apart, with their bodies dumped at the same location! Both girls had been kidnapped and held captive for months before being killed. Once Keye arrives in Whisper she is viewed as an outsider not only by the residents of this tight-knit community but by the fellow members of the sheriff’s department Major Tina Brolin and Detective Raymond. Sheriff Meltzer though admires Keye for more than just profiling abilities!  As Keye developes her profile of the killer, as someone who stalks and plans and waits, the  killer ups his game and taunts Keye and the Sheriff by snatching a third girl!! Can Keye and Meltzer save the third victim from the grizzly death that they know awaits her?

Keye Street is a very intriguing character, a brilliant profilier with the FBI, whose career imploded when Keye lost her battle with the bottle. Now as a recovering alcoholic, she heads her own detective agency, Corporate Intelligence & Investigations (CI&I) with her stoner/hacker business partner Neil Donovan and their only employee Latischa the daughter of a bail bondsman whose skips Keye chases down! Keye also acts as a consultant for the Atlanta Police Department and Detective/Friend/Lover Aaron Rauser!

This storyline in Don’t Talk to Strangers, like those in the preceding books in the series is well-developed, fast-paced, and packs a punch at the end that leaves you saying…. “Please write faster Ms. Williams!!” The Atlanta Journal Constitution says that “Keye Street is one of the most addictive new series heroines” and  Tess Gerritsen writes…..

“Keye Street immediately puts herself in the TOP ECHELON of SUSPENSE HEROES. She is a brutally funny and powerful human-one of the most realistic protagonists in crime fiction that I’ve had the thrill to read”

I agree with both of those sentiments! So check out Keye Street in all three books in the series.

Bottomline: A strong 4 plus stars out of 5 for maybe the best book yet in this series. While all three books can be enjoyed separately, my recommendation is to start at beginning to get to know Keye Street, Aaron Rauser and the crew!

Book 3 for 2015 and Book 3  in the 2015 Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge!!

Links for Further Explorations of the Works of Amanda Kyle Williams

Author Website
Facebook
Goodreads
Amazon

The Monkey’s Raincoat – Robert Crais (Elvis Cole #1) – A Great Series Starter

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The Monkey's Raincoat - Rboert Crais

Robert Crais began the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series in 1987 with the release of The Monkey’s Raincoat. Since then Crais has written fourteen more novels featuring the two members of  Elvis’ detective agency. I have read seven of the novels, starting with 1993’s release Free Fall (Book #4) and ending with Book #11 Chasing Darkness in 2008.

I missed No 6 Sunset Express released in 1996). also missed books 1,2 and 3! Don’t ask me why!.

At the beginning of this month I wrote two posts. The first post, Six Great Mystery Series and Their First Books lists six books that I have read that start a great mystery series.

The second post was Books to Read to Start Three Great Series. In the second post, one of the books was The Monkey’s Raincoat, which was sitting on my TBR bookshelves!

When I discovered the2015 TBR Pile Challenge at Carpe Librum Girl,  it became a no-brainer that I was going to read The Monkey’s Raincoat and I did so in a little over one day!!

Remember when I said before don’t ask me why, I hadn’t read this book before, well, that was the question that I asked myself when I was done!!

The second question, which followed quickly was – why did you STOP reading this series?? T

he answer must lie in the saying “Too Many Books, Too Little Time” because it doesn’t lay in the quality of the books. I love both of the lead characters in the series and the storylines were always great. All I can say is, that I hope to get back into the later books of the series, soon!

But now back to The Monkey’s Raincoat released back in 1987. The book received the following accolades:

Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel (1988),
Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original (1988),
Shamus Award Nominee for Best Original PI Paperback (1988),
Edgar Award Nominee for Best Paperback Original (1988)

From the Back of the Book…..

Ellen Lang has lost something very valuable indeed -her husband and young son. The case seems simple enough, but PI Elvis Cole and his sociopath sidekick Joe Pike aren’t thrilled by the prospect of another straightforward domestic…

But all is not what it seems. Their search down these seamy side of Hollywood’s studio lots and sculpted lawns soon lands Elvis and Joe deep in the non-Disney world of drugs sex and murder. Things are looking up – and soon everybody, from the cops to starlets to crooks has declared war on the good guys. For Ellen, Hollywood isn’t Funtown any more. For Elvis it’s a good living. He hopes.

Bottomline:

The Monkey’s Raincoat is a solid 4 to 4.5 out of 5!! I loved the plot, along with both Elvis and Joe! Elvis’ humorous personality adds relief from the grim reality that Ellen Lang has to deal with, and Joe Pike protects them both!! Just don’t ask how?? 

Now Book #2 in the series is Stalking the Angel and is available for Kindle at $5.99 and Book #3Lullaby Town is on my TBR Pile. Do I read # 2 first and then #3 or just jump to #3??? Decisions. Decisions!!

2026 Post Update

Well the decision made was to read #3 Lullaby Town. However, I never read Stalking the Angel. In fact I didn’t read Crais’s 2015 release The Promise (Elvis Cole #16) until 2019. In 2019 I also read Taken (Elvis Cole #15 which was released in 2012.

Since 2019 four Elvis Cole novels have been released of which I have read only one A Dangerous Man (Elvis Cole #18). Overall, I have read 14 of the 20 Elvis Cole novels. The ones I missed were #2, #6, #14,#17,#19,#20. This year I hope to read at least 2 of them!

Author Website

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Version 1.0.0

About Robert Crais

Robert Crais is the author of the bestselling Cole & Pike novels. A native of Louisiana, Crais moved to Hollywood in the late 70s where he began a successful career in television, writing scripts for such major series as Cagney & Lacey, Miami Vice and Hill…Read full bio

Strangled – Brian McGrory (Book #4 – Jack Flynn)

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Brian McGroryStrangled from Brian McGrory is the fourth book featuring Boston Record reporter Jack Flynn. It is the first time that I’ve joined Mr. Flynn on one of his adventures, but I don’t believe it will be my last meeting with Jack! In this installment,  Jack, is caught in the middle of an investigation into a series  of brutal murders in Boston, that appear to be reminiscent of the work of the Boston Strangler.; Garish bows were left tied around the neck of the victims, while their bodies were left in ghoulish positions to greet investigators, when they entered the murder scenes.. Could it be, that Albert DeSalvo the convicted Boston Strangler wasn’t the Strangler after all, and that the real Strangler is still at large and at work?

In Strangled, Jack is thrust into the investigation, by the murderer  -“The Phanton Fiend” aka The Boston Strangler who keeps sending him information concerning the murders. Jack is between a rock and a hard place, does he publish the information in his possession possibly causing a panic throughout the city and incurring the wrath of the Mayor and the Chief of Police, The Chief of Police  was  the lead detective on the original investigation,who is now running for mayor.  and he may be put in a bad light if DeSalvo was not the Strangler. Alternatively does Jack sit on the story making the Strangler mad, and forcing him to step up his killing!!

McGrory has created in Strangled, a fine story based on the speculation that Albert DeSalvo convicted of rapes, but not the stranglings, was not the actual strangler, but had received knowledge of the crimes from the real strangler! I enjoyed this fairly quick read and liked the character of Jack Flynn. There was some good humor in Strangled as Jack often related both what he said and what he should have said! Another pleasant aspect of the book, was Jack love life. The story opens on Jack’s planned wedding day, with Jack contemplating calling his fiance to call off the wedding, only to be beaten to the punch by the bride to be! Later in the book, Jack has a chance meeting with the woman he let walk out of his life, can a spark still be there between them???

About the author: From Goodreads:

McGrory is the editor of The Boston Globe. A 23-year veteran of the Globe, he was previously a Metro columnist and associate editor. Born and raised in Boston and the region, he has also worked as the Globe’s Metro editor, White House reporter, national reporter, general assignment reporter, and suburban reporter. More at Goodreads

Author Page at Amazon

Bottom line  Rating 3.75 out of 5.  Strangled  had enjoyable characters, was an interesting and enjoyable read, but for me there was nothing really extra special about the book.. (Book 1 of 2015 – from my to be read pile!)

Harry Dolan’s Very Bad Men (David Loogan Series #2)

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Very Bad Men

Harry Dolan’s Very Bad Men is the second book in the David Loogan series,  Dolan’s follow-up to Bad Things Happen about which Stephen King  said….. “Great F****ing Book Man, I was totally hooked”  I am in total agreement with the great Mr. King’s assessment of Bad Things Happen and I feel the same way about  Very Bad Men!!

In Harry Dolan’s Very Bad Men, David Loogan and Elizabeth Waishkey have settled down to a simple life  after the tumultuous events in Bad Things Happen, until one day when David, as editor of Gray Streets magazine receives a manuscript that begins “ I killed Henry Kormoran”.  Not  long after David receives the manuscript, Detective Waishkey is assigned to a new murder case – Henry Kormoran,  and once again it appears that David and Elizabeth are on the trail of a psychotic killer. This time the killer is targeting members of a gang that attempted to rob the Great Lakes Bank seventeen years prior! During the attempted robbery Terry Dawtrey shot Sheriff Harlan Spencer, leaving Spencer paralyzed.  Now, Spencer’s daughter Callie is running for the Senate and the current killings are dredging up old memories about the robbery that may upset Callie’s campaign, especially with investigative  reporter Lucy Navarro on the case for the tabloid The National Current!  The question becomes who and why is somebody targeting these men after such a long time.??? Is it Callie and her campaign, was she involved in the robbery?  Or is it someone else??

Harry Dolan

Thoughts About Very Bad Men

Harry Dolan once again delivers a top-notch, intricately plotted mystery. While the setting is the present  day, the writing  creates a feel similar to one that one gets when reading Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler. Does anyone else see Humphrey Bogart playing David Loogan!

The characters are vivid and the twists and turns of the plot keep the reader guessing and, at least for me, quickly turning the pages!!

Grade  A+

Bottomiine:

A series that, while it is still in its infancy, is getting better with each book, and I can’t wait to move on  to the next installment The Last Dead Girl..

Links

Author Website
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Buy Harry’s Work  Online

Book 33 for 2014

1990 – I discovered William G. Tapply’s Brady Coyne and Elizabeth was born! A great year!

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Dead WinterI started to keep track of the books that I read  in 1988. I kept record of themin   A Book Lover’s Journal  and wrote short blurbs about the books. Here is a list of the 54 books that I read in 1990. That’s the most books read of any year, since I’ve   kept records! Reviewing the list, I see that it was the year I discovered William G Tapply’s Brady Coyne. After reading  Dead Winter, the eighth book in the series, which was released in 1989, I quickly went back and read the prior seven books! Tapply wrote 20 more Brady Coyne novels of which I’ve read 16.  Books #21 Shadow of Death and #25 One-Way Ticket are on my to be read bookshelves! Maybe it’s time to rediscover this great series! In 1990 the second most read  series was the Mongo Mystery series from George C Chesbro. I read four books from this series. From Goodreads….

Dr. Robert Frederickson, or “Mongo” to his friends. He’s a former circus tumbler, black belt in karate, doctor of Criminology, and professor at a New York City university. And he’s quite an unusual fellow as well, not only because he’s a private investigator but also because he’s a dwarf…

The stories and the characters in this are terrific! Chesbro wrote 13 Mongo books of which I’ve read 12.  The first seven books are probably my favorites. Here’s a link to a great synopsis of the work of George C Chesbro. Check it out and Chesbro’s work at Dangerousdwarf.com you won’t be disappointed!! Of course 1990’s reads also included some books by  other favorites like James Lee Burke, Loren Estleman, Bill Pronzini, Tony Hillerman  and Stuart Kaminsky. Here’s the complete list!

Title Author
The Cold Smell of Sacred Stone (A Mongo Mystery, #6) George C. Chesbro
Dark Side (Loren Swift Mystery) Doug Hornig
The Cat’s Meow Robert Wright Campbell
Saturday Night Dead R.D. Rosen
Murder on the Hudson Don Flynn
Perfect End William Marshall
Extenuating Circumstances Jonathan Valin
Nibbled to Death by Ducks Robert Wright Campbell
The Man Who Met the Train (Carl Wilcox, #7) Harold Adams
An Affair of Sorcerers (A Mongo Mystery, #3) George C. Chesbro
Peeper Loren D. Estleman
Dead Winter William G. Tapply
The Language of Cannibals (A Mongo Mystery, #8) George C. Chesbro
The Man Who Walked Like a Bear (Porfiry Rostnikov, #6) Stuart M. Kaminsky
Follow the Sharks (Brady Coyne, #3) William G. Tapply
You Bet Your Life (Toby Peters, #3) Stuart M. Kaminsky
Out of Nowhere William Marshall
Coyote Waits (Navajo Mysteries, #10) Tony Hillerman
The Marine Corpse (Brady Coyne, #4) William G. Tapply
Death at Charity’s Point (Brady Coyne, #1) William G. Tapply
Gone to Earth Rick Boyer
Quicksilver (Nameless Detective, #11) Bill Pronzini
A Void in Hearts (Brady Coyne, #7) William G. Tapply
Deadfall (Nameless Detective, #15) Bill Pronzini
Murder Among Friends Frank McConnell
The Vulgar Boatman (Brady Coyne, #6) William G. Tapply
The Frog King Frank McConnell
Wall of Glass (Joshua Croft, #1) Walter Satterthwait
A Ticket to the Boneyard (Matthew Scudder, #8) Lawrence Block
Blood Lake Frank McConnell
Icy Clutches (Gideon Oliver, #6) Aaron Elkins
Dead Meat (Brady Coyne, #5) William G. Tapply
Jackpot (Nameless Detective, #17) Bill Pronzini
At Ease with the Dead (Joshua Croft, #2) Walter Satterthwait
Sweet Women Lie (Amos Walker Mystery #10) Loren D. Estleman
The Neon Rain (Dave Robicheaux, #1) James Lee Burke
Shadow of a Broken Man (A Mongo Mystery, #1) George C. Chesbro
Client Privilege William G. Tapply
Black Cherry Blues (Dave Robicheaux, #3) James Lee Burke

Amanda Kyle Williams’ The Stranger You Seek’s strong ending leads to Book 2 of the series!

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The Stranger You SeekSo last week I wrote that I was struggling through The Stranger You Seek the first of the Keye Street novels from Amanda Kyle Williams. Tonight I went to the library to get book 2 in the series Stranger in the Room! It’s easy to explain the reason , stealing and editing a line from Monty Python and the Holy Grail “It Got Better!!

I guess that it took a while for the story to grab me, but once it did it didn’t let go until the last twist and turn in the plot! The protagonist of the book is Keye Street, an ex-FBI profiler who was a rising star in the agency, until her alcohol addiction brought her career crashing down. Now Keye is a working PI in Atlanta chasing down bail jumpers, catching adulterers, serving subpoenas, that is until her best friend Atlanta Police Detective Aaron Rauser calls her to help him out on a grisly murder case. The case’s profile quickly  rises soon turning into a hunt, for the “Wishbone” killer. As the killer taunts Rauser and Street, the hunt turns personal, with Keye and Rauser in the killer’s crosshairs.

Now, back to the problems that I see as minor and were overcome  by the storyline.  Elizabeth B. in her review at Goodreads didn’t see it that way though… she wrote……

… The main character was just the most annoying narrator ever. It was as if every problem a person could have was built in by the author. Flawed is one thing but you pretty easily degenerate into Mary Sue-ish and that’s exactly what happened here. Freakish name? Check. Bad family history? Check. Discrimination from childhood? Check. Drugs and/or alcohol abuse? Check. But I’m a survivor and will overcome everything all by my lonesome? Check.  Read More At…Goodreads

I really didn’t think it was that bad and by the end of the book, I liked Keye and Rauser, and saw them as a team that I could root for!

Bottom line: A strong twisting ending made the book a good read and a series that I will follow at least into the next book Stranger in the Room. so Check it Out!

Grade: B – over the first half of the book, A for the last so I guess that’s a B+!!

Book No 28 for 2014….

Here’s the trailer for the book!

Karin Slaughter – Cop Town – Atlanta – 1974 – A Wild Ride!

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Cop Town

Karin Slaughter – Cop Town Atlanta 1974

The first Karin Slaughter book that I read was Kisscut, book #2 in her Grant County series. After finishing it, I immediately went back and found book #1, Blindsighted, and read it even faster than Kisscut. Since then I have read every book she has written—including both the Grant County and the Will Trent series, which are now intertwined!

A Stand-Alone Set in 1974 Atlanta

Cop Town is Karin’s first stand-alone novel. For this book she went back 40 years and recreated the feel of a changing Atlanta in 1974. Having lived in Athens, Georgia from 1975 to 1979, I could really appreciate the atmosphere she brought to life—it took me back to that time and place, when names like Maynard Ferguson and Reginald Evans were part of the soundtrack of our lives.

Meet Kate Murphy

The novel introduces Kate Murphy, a strong female character much like Sara Linton or Faith Mitchell. Kate is a young widow trying to rebuild her life after her husband Patrick was killed in Vietnam. After a bad experience as a secretary, she decides this police job has to work—but the odds are stacked against her. She’s a young, attractive woman on a misogynistic police force that doesn’t believe women belong, and she doesn’t fit in with the women either, coming from well-to-do Buckhead.

The Atlanta Shooter

On Kate’s first day, the “Atlanta Shooter”—who has already killed four officers—claims another victim, Don Wesley. Don’s partner is rising star Jimmy Lawson, whose family connections run deep in the department. Soon Maggie Lawson (Jimmy’s sister) is paired with Kate, and together they investigate what really happened in that Five Points alley, while trying to stop the Shooter before he strikes again. They get some help from Gail Patterson, a plainclothes officer and Maggie’s former mentor, but it’s an uphill battle against both the system and their own personal demons.

Characters and Atmosphere

Karin Slaughter fills the novel with memorable characters—from the Lawson family to Kate’s Dutch-Jewish mother and grandmother, survivors of Nazi concentration camps. The action is fast, furious, and tension-filled, with just the right mix of grit and heart.

“Relentless pacing, complex characters, and gritty realism, all set against the backdrop of a city on the edge….Slaughter’s eye for detail and truth is unmatched. I’d follow her anywhere.” – Gillian Flynn

“Stunning… Karin Slaughter’s first stand-alone novel, she breaks new ground with this riveting story of two young police officers trying to stop a serial killer targeting cops. Her characters, plot, pacing are unrivaled among thriller writers and if you haven’t yet read her, this is the moment.” – Michael Connelly

Final Thoughts

Ok, I know this is a stand-alone novel—but come on, Karin! I just know you have more to write about Kate Murphy. We need to know what happens next. Maybe keep the Atlanta PD world going, NYPD Blue–style? Nah—I want more Kate, Maggie, and Gail! (Book 22 for 2014)

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