From the attention-getting first sentence of this novel (“Quinn had found a box of paper clips in his bottom desk drawer and was just straightening up when the dead woman entered his office”) to the description of the latter, which ends as follows: “The smile came again, a red slash of amusement that broke into speech,” in true noir style, I suspected that this was a novel that I might or might not want to read through to the end. I should quickly add that initial impressions are often misleading, and that was the case here.
Although she initially introduces herself as Tiffany Keller, the woman under discussion soon admits that she is Chrissie Keller, the twin sister of Tiffany, who five years prior was the fifth and final victim of a serial killer, still on the loose, nicknamed The Carver, whose pattern of killing included mutilating his victims and carving a large “X” on the chest of each before finally cutting their throats. She explains that the police have refused any longer to pursue the cold case, and that she wants Quinn to reopen the investigation and bring the killer to justice.
Quinn, a former Captain with the NYPD, now owns a private detective agency, along with his partners Larry Fedderman, like Quinn a former homicide detective working out of Manhattan South, and Pearl Kasner, also former NYPD and with whom Quinn at one time had a.much more intimate relationship [on which they both from time to time reflect]. Suddenly things heat up when it appears that The Carver has once again become active.
The novel at first is not a heart-in-the-mouth thriller, but steadily builds suspense as the body count mounts, and every time a female character has a date with a new guy she’s just met, the reader can’t help but think “Is she going to be the next victim? Is this guy the chameleon-like Carver.?” And suddenly it becomes just that, a heart-in-the-mouth thriller. Mr. Lutz paints an alternately grim and beautiful picture, each mostly accurate, of New York City. I must admit that this book, the author’s twelfth overall and the fifth in the series featuring Frank Quinn, was my first introduction to John Lutz. It is recommended, and I certainly plan on reading the next in the series, which the publisher advises is forthcoming in 2011.
