Christine's Choices

The book’s dust jacket will give you the nitty gritty, but there is so much more to the story than that.

There are many reasons why I recommend this series (City of Fire, Lost Witness) -- strong, interesting and dysfunctional characters, a good mix of old fashioned detective work with heart pounding action, and protagonist Lena Gamble, a Homicide Special detective in the elite Robbery Homicide Division for the city of Los Angeles.

The character of Lena Gamble as established by Robert Ellis is a homicide detective without the drawbacks sometimes associated with female police officers – sexual harassment, not being accepted by other detectives, etc. Granted, she does seem to have her fair share of run-ins and stone walling by higher ups but that comes with the territory.

Murder Season certainly lives up to its title. The homicides actually begin before the first chapter and continue throughout, each a careful response to a perceived threat to our villain. The investigation is hampered by the District Attorney’s office and lost evidence. Just when you think you know the who and the why, you don’t. Just when you think you know a character (alive or dead), you’re wrong again.

There is one character in particular who totally blindsided me and Lena. And the emotional rollercoaster that comes with this character’s revelation becomes the crux of the last third of the story. The story does come to a most fitting conclusion with the very last sentence (but please don’t cheat yourself and read ahead).

If you are looking for a cozy, this is not it. However, should you favor Michael Connelly or T. Jefferson Parker, you should enjoy Murder Season.

--CVS

Homicide detective Adam Garrett is already a rising star in the Boston police department when he and his cynical partner, Carl Landauer, catch a horrifying case that could make their careers: the ritualistic murder of a wealthy college girl that appears to have Satanic elements. 

The partners make a quick arrest when all evidence points to another student, a troubled musician in a Goth band who was either dating or stalking the murdered girl. But Garrett’s case is turned upside down when beautiful, mysterious Tanith Cabarrus, a practicing witch from nearby Salem, walks into the homicide bureau and insists that the real perpetrator is still at large. Tanith claims to have had psychic visions that the killer has ritually sacrificed other teenagers in his attempts to summon a powerful, ancient demon.  

All Garrett's beliefs about the nature of reality will be tested as he is forced to team up with a woman he is fiercely attracted to but cannot trust, in a race to uncover a psychotic killer before he strikes again.

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.      When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.