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In Brian Freeman’s debut novel IMMORAL we met Detective Jonathan Stride when he was a cop in Minnesota. At the conclusion of that storyline, Jonathan was in Las Vegas with Detective Serena Dial whom he had met when she traveled from Vegas to Minnesota to assist with a case. Jon is now a member of the Vegas PD. His new partner, Amanda Gillen, is something of a surprise. Amanda is a transsexual and gets a lot of harassment from most of the department, but she has found herself a friend in Jon. Their first case involves the murder of a local celebrity – the rich son of an immensely wealthy man. Much of the mysterious happenings among and about the victims of several murders revolve around a soon to be demolished hotel, the Scheherazade. In its heyday it was one of the finest casinos and hotels in Vegas, but fickle time and circumstance have made it obsolete. Yet there is something about this doomed building that has given rise to events far beyond the scope of anything the detectives can hang a case on. As one of them states, the only thing the murders have in common is that they have nothing in common. Yet, as we learn, there is a common thread. Serena and Jon are making every attempt to keep their romance alive; perhaps what seemed like a good idea in the frozen north is not working out in the heat of the southwest. Ghosts from the past plague both of them, and in addition Jon wonders if the desert and Vegas are where he wants to spend his career as a cop. The author has built upon his success with his first novel in this suspense-filled follow-up. There are crooked politicians, a crime from the past which colors the future, leading up to an unforeseen conclusion which is truly shocking. As one member of a group of Minnesota crime writers, the author says: "What is there to do during a long winter but sit inside and think dark thoughts of murder and mayhem?" Well the truth is, it has certainly paid off for Freeman.
Reviewed by Lorraine Gelly, October 2006
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