|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
Detective Ellie Hatcher is thrilled when she's called on by media-wise, eccentric homicide detective Flann McIlroy to help him solve the murders of two women. She had been happy in her old department but homicide is where all the best cops want to be, but she's not too thrilled when she finds out that it wasn't her good record as a cop that brought her into the case, but her family background, along with her age and good looks. Years ago Ellie's father had been a homicide detective in Wichita, Kansas. He spent his last years trying to find a serial killer, only to have been trapped and killed by that same criminal. His story, and in turn Ellie's association with it, is well known and Ellie finds out that's why McIlroy, who knows his way around the media, asked that she work on this case with him. She's not too happy that she got ahead because of anything but her own record as a cop, but that just makes her all the more determined to do her best in order to show that she deserves the big break into homicide. The two murdered women in this case both had done business with a very popular online dating service and had been killed one year apart. Because the site is so popular, the owner refuses to let the cops have any information about the clients, claiming it would harm the business and frighten new clients away. Also, because so many people use the site already, the owner insists that the police need more evidence to make a hard connection between the victims and the use of the online dating site. That's why Ellie signs up as a client trying to find love; first under a false identity for the case – and then under her own identity. After all she hasn't had a good date in a very long time. As Ellie continues to investigate she finds more of a personal connection to this new case. It seems as if the killer knows all about her and her father, and that makes the tension and danger level shoot up when Ellie's safety starts to be in jeopardy. This is the first in a new series by writer Alafair Burke. It deals with the character of Ellie Hatcher, a woman and cop who has to deal with her own personal baggage. Ellie is written in a way that makes her very real and interesting. In fact all of the characters, including her family members and her fellow cops, are very well written. This series is also based in NYC and that brings the excitement level up a few notches. As an inside joke for those who know Alafair's father's works, there's an unnamed cameo made by one of his most famous cop characters. DEAD CONNECTION is a good solid mystery and shows that Alafair Burke's writing is getting better and better.
Reviewed by A. L. Katz, April 2007
[ Top ]
QUICK SEARCH:
Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]
| 
