"Exciting and poignant who-done-it"
After some heavy rains, a woman's body is found in the
drainage sewer at the exclusive Riveria Country Club. The
woman was badly beaten and her body tied to two cinder
blocks so that she would sink without a trace. LAPD
detective Mace St. John, back on the job after suffering a
heart attack four months ago, leads the investigation. He
learns the victim is Jane Ferran. When he looks at her file he sees Munch Mancini's face with
Jane's name underneath it. When he goes to question Munch,
she tells him that she used her friend's name when she was
arrested for a DUI. Munch has a feeling one of her druggie
friends from years ago might have killed Jane but she can't
tell Mace about it because she would implicate herself in a
decade old triple homicide. It is only when it looks like
Thor is going to kill anyone connected to that incident
does she come forward and offers herself up as bait to trap
a killer. Munch is an ex-druggie, a recovering alcoholic and a former
prostitute but she has turned her life around. She goes to
AA meetings, has an adopted daughter and has a good job
working as a mechanic in Brentwood. She is a role model
for people who want to start over and make something of his
or herself. The perpetrator of the murder will come as a
shock to the reader because everyone involved in the case
is missing a vital piece of information. Barbara
Seranella, known for her urban noir thrillers, once again
has created a realistic who-done-it that is both exciting
and poignant. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted April 10, 2003
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