"A police procedural you won't want to miss!"
It has been a decade since NYPD detective Conrad Voort
and Meechum Keefe have seen each other. The old childhood
friends share drinks in the historic White Horse Tavern in
the Village, but instead of a nostalgic camaraderie,
Meechum acts apprehensive and on edge. The next day,
Conrad learns that Meechum has vanished leaving behind a
list of five names he wrote on a napkin in the bar. Conrad quickly realizes that the common thread of the
list from Meechum Keefe is that each person has been
involved directly or indirectly with violence. Several
died allegedly from accidents, but Conrad wonders if murder
occurred. As he makes further inquiries into the remaining
survivors, Conrad finds himself attracted to one of them,
Dr. Jill Towne currently treating a terrorist. He soon
finds preliminary evidence that a top secret government
agency hires killers to eliminate "threats" to security
(that is to that agency) including nosy detectives getting
too close to the truth. With THE BROKEN HEARTS CLUB, IRRESISTIBLE, and now ALL
THE DEAD WERE STRANGERS, Conrad Voort proves he is a great
lead character in a continuing police procedural series.
The current plot raises questions on terrorism and
antiterrorism, but the clever Ethan Black never allows his
political-social thesis to interfere or to even slightly
slow down his thriller. By enhancing the plot with issues
involving the means justifying the ends, Mr. Black will
catapult readers into seeking the previous two Voort books
and his other tales as the audience will conclude that ALL
THE DEAD WERE STRANGERS is a great novel. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted August 22, 2001
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