A knockout mystery with twists aplenty.
A Kansas City lawyer tries to help identify a serial killer while prosecuting another one in this seventh installment of a legal thriller series.
Senior Litigation Counsel Jeff Trask’s latest case involves WaShaun “Gloomy” Stewart Jr., who supposedly killed five people. But as only the most recent murder occurred when Gloomy was 18 years old, Trask struggles to link them all to try him as an adult. But the attorney’s biggest obstacle is the new criminal division chief, Ray Marsh. He blames Trask for stunting his career advancement when they were both in Washington, D.C. That’s the likely reason Marsh attempts to sabotage Trask’s homicide case. At the same time, a serial killer terrorizes Kansas City; he abducts and mutilates prostitutes, leaving body parts for others to find. Trask may be able to assist investigating detectives with the murders; all he needs is a “federal connection.” But Marsh once again stands in Trask’s way, as he somehow gets his hands on the investigation. Trask must fight to put Gloomy behind bars and stop a proficient killer’s horrifying spree. When these two cases suddenly clash, everyone’s workload gets even more complicated. The latest volume in Rainer’s series comes with a bevy of unexpected turns. Most of these unfold in the final act, igniting the narrative’s latter half and its explosive ending. Trask is, as always, a consummate professional whose home life—with his wife, a former undercover agent, and two charming canines—lightens the story’s serious tone. His fusion of lawyer and sleuth, which has become a series staple, works especially well with the dual-cases plotline. The author masterfully handles a populous cast, including Trask’s Department of Justice friend Cam Turner, who dishes out the bulk of the tale’s wry humor. Cam even has a recurring joke; he mocks despised Judge Richard Horney by exaggerating the man’s faux French pronunciation: “Reeshard HorNAY.”
A knockout mystery with twists aplenty.Pub Date: May 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-57-891185-4
Page Count: 302
Publisher: Rukia Publishing US
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
As the prosecutor sadly observes: “All this because of a dead buffalo.”
Idyllic Catalina Island turns out to be just as crime infested as the rest of Los Angeles County in the latest series launch by the creator of Harry Bosch, Renée Ballard, and the Lincoln Lawyer.
Det. Sgt. Stilwell has been bounced off the county homicide squad and rusticized to Catalina, where the exclusive Black Marlin Club won’t admit even four-term Avalon Mayor Doug Allen to full membership and the most serious infraction seems to be the killing and cutting up of a buffalo, presumably by Henry Gaston, who operates Island Mystery Tours when he’s not threatening endangered species. All that changes with the discovery of a body sunk in the surrounding waters. The corpse, most recognizable by its streak of purple hair, is that of Leigh-Anne Moss, a Black Marlin server recently fired for fraternizing with members and guests she sees as potential sugar daddies. Stilwell is sufficiently invested in her murder to compete vigorously over jurisdiction with Rex Ahearn, the LA County homicide detective who kept his job when Stilwell lost his. Their rivalry, fueled by mutual contempt, is only the first hint that Stilwell will end up fighting his counterparts in law enforcement and local government at least as hard as he fights crooks like hit man Merris Spivak and Oscar “Baby Head” Terranova, Henry’s boss, who comes under sharper scrutiny when Henry disappears and ends up dead himself. Connelly handles his hero’s obligatory romance with assistant harbormaster Tash Dano and his increasingly wary alliance with assistant D.A. Monika Juarez with equal professionalism, and if the wrap-up leaves some loose ends dangling, well, that’s what franchises are for.
As the prosecutor sadly observes: “All this because of a dead buffalo.”Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9780316588485
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
Uneven but fitfully amusing.
Betrayed by her husband, a severely depressed young woman gets drawn into the over-the-top festivities at a lavish wedding.
Phoebe Stone, who teaches English literature at a St. Louis college, is plotting her own demise. Her husband, Matt, has left her for another woman, and Phoebe is taking it hard. Indeed, she's determined just where and how she will end it all: at an oceanfront hotel in Newport, where she will lie on a king-sized canopy bed and take a bottle of her cat’s painkillers. At the hotel, Phoebe meets bride-to-be Lila, a headstrong rich girl presiding over her own extravagant six-day wedding celebration. Lila thought she had booked every room in the hotel, and learning of Phoebe's suicidal intentions, she forbids this stray guest from disrupting the nuptials: “No. You definitely can’t kill yourself. This is my wedding week.” After the punchy opening, a grim flashback to the meltdown of Phoebe's marriage temporarily darkens the mood, but things pick up when spoiled Lila interrupts Phoebe's preparations and sweeps her up in the wedding juggernaut. The slide from earnest drama to broad farce is somewhat jarring, but from this point on, Espach crafts an enjoyable—if overstuffed—comedy of manners. When the original maid of honor drops out, Phoebe is persuaded, against her better judgment, to take her place. There’s some fun to be had here: The wedding party—including groom-to-be Gary, a widower, and his 11-year-old daughter—takes surfing lessons; the women in the group have a session with a Sex Woman. But it all goes on too long, and the humor can seem forced, reaching a low point when someone has sex with the vintage wedding car (you don’t want to know the details). Later, when two characters have a meet-cute in a hot tub, readers will guess exactly how the marriage plot resolves.
Uneven but fitfully amusing.Pub Date: July 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781250899576
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2024
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