"A good mystery"
The case was as obvious as any facing the Minneapolis
Police Department. Frank Beck lost his electronics
business, has been estranged from most of his family, and
suffered from colon cancer. So when his son found him
hanging, the official word is suicide. However, the
officer on the scene Danny Borg felt strongly that two
things seemed out of character. First the noose was poster
boy perfect as if Frank was an expert, something no one
collaborated. Then there was the weird numbers on his arm
that mean nothing, at least to Borg. First Response Unit Detective Mars Bahr decides to look
into Beck's demise. Soon other similar deaths follow.
Subsequently Mars learns that the digits left on each
victim's arm is tied back to a Civil War regiment whose
descendants are marked for murder. With the help of an
army of genealogists, Mars tries to uncover the identity of
a serial killer. THE DEAD SURVIVORS is at its best when the story line
glimpses into Mars' personal life such especially when he
interacts with his son. That enables the audience to look
deep inside the hero and see what he is made of. The
sleuthing is fun, however, several subplots not only fail
to return to the prime story line, but also are left
dangling. Though not as good as THIRD PERSON SINGULAR,
K.J. Erickson provides police procedural readers with a
fine entry due to the likable lead character, but is he
enough to merit a trip to Mars? Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted February 14, 2002
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