It’s not often that a homicide detective receives a picture of a victim prior to the murder, but that’s exactly what happens to Tom Thorne in this latest volume in the series, when his cell phone rings and he opens it to see a photo. And it happens more than once. A connection occurs after the second victim is identified and Thorne discovers that the murderer is a recently released man named Marcus Brooks, who had learned that his girlfriend and his son were killed deliberately in a hit-and-run accident two weeks before he was to be released from prison after serving seven years for the killing of a bike gang leader.
Thorne has to balance the capture of Brooks with several other pressures, including his relationship with his own girlfriend, the death of his father, possible connections between bike gangs and the Turkish mafia, drug and other illicit activities, and an investigation by Internal Affairs.
It is a long story, but an absorbing one, with the plot(s) moving forward at a steady pace. Thorne is depicted on a basic human level, with all the doubts and wonders inherent in a person. As police procedurals go, “Death Message” is not so much a step-by-step investigation as it is an insight into the detective’s mind and ability to weigh alternatives, especially in his own ethos and life.
Recommended.
