Saturday, August 7, 2010

No Place to Die-James L. Thane

No Place to Die
James L. Thane
Leisure, Aug 1 2010, $7.99
ISBN: 9780843964226

Forty-three year old medical malpractice lawyer Beverly Thompson pulls into the family garage when a man with a gun tells her to get out of her Lexus SUV. Her second husband cardiologist David enters from the kitchen only the intruder shoots him twice in the chest followed by shooting Chester their German Shepherd. He uses a rag with a chemical to knock out Beverly and leaves taking the unconscious attorney with her.

Beverly fights for her life as she rejects the notion of being a passive prisoner after seeing the psychopathic kidnapper murder her husband and her dog. However, at least four others have also been murdered by apparently the same weapon. Phoenix homicide detective Sean Richardson and his partner Maggie McClinton lead the investigation into the serial killer homicides with no pattern or link connecting the dead surfacing, and the clues limited. Sean assumes the wife of one of the victims is also dead, but on the remote chance Beverly Thompson lives, he and Maggie diligently work to rescue her and prevent additional murders.

This is an engaging tense police procedural that hooks the audience because the four lead characters seem genuine and the pair of relationships (the two cops and the killer-prisoner) comes across as real. Readers will relish James L. Thane’s tense thriller as the detectives know time is running out, if it is not already too late, to save Beverly’s life.

Harriet Klausner

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