Thursday, June 12, 2008

Eight in the Box-Raffi Yessayan

Eight in the Box
Raffi Yessayan
Ballantine, Jun 2008, $25.00
ISBN: 0345502612

In Boston, professional women are alarmingly vanishing; the only clue of an assault is their bathtub is filled with blood. The police assume these victims are dead though no corpse has been left behind or surfaced. There are no suspects or even a person of slight interest as the cops are stymied.

Veteran Boston homicide sergeant Wayne Mooney and his rookie partner Angel Alves lead the investigation of the Bathtub Killer, but are going nowhere with the case. Assistant District Attorney Connie Darget is frustrated as he wants this perpetrator stopped, but the cops have provided him with nothing except another missing female; he is also disgusted with his peers who only care what happens to their résumés. Meanwhile the clever psychopath continues his or her taunting body snatching.

This is an exciting serial killer whodunit with some police procedural and legal thriller elements enhancing the tale. The story line is fast-paced as the police and the office of the DA are in the dark not even certain whether the crime is kidnapping only, sexual assault, or murder while the audience knows from the first page who the Bathtub Killer is. Fans will appreciate this action-packed cat and mouse encounter although the ADAs except for Connie are treated with contempt; Richter is more sympathetic then this selfish group.

Harriet Klausner

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