Santa Fe Police Chief Kevin Kerney and his wife, Lieutenant Colonel Sara Brannon, are on leave and eagerly awaiting the birth of their son when a prominent gay attorney is gunned down outside his office by an unknown assailant. Called to the crime scene and faced with scanty evidence and no apparent motive, Kerney directs his chief of detectives to delve into the victim's personal and professional life, a decision that ultimately leads to a SWAT team screw-up and the death of two innocent people. But the killer has just begun. Kerney's horse, a mustang he'd gentled and trained, is vicously and senselessly destroyed; a dead rabbit is left on his doorstep; and a second victim with ties to the criminal justice system is found in her bed with her throat cut along with the warning: EVERYONE DIES. As a time of joy turns into a nightmare, Kerney and Sara search desperately for a seemingly unstoppable chameleonlike killer who promises to murder them and their unborn son.
Everyone Dies: Kevin Kerney Series, Book 8
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
The questions and concerns of relationships, both everyday and extraordinary, personal and professional, lie at the heart of McGarrity's ninth entry in his Kevin Kerney series of police procedurals (The Big Gamble; Tularosa; The Judas Judge). Kerney, chief of the Santa Fe police force, and his wife, Sara Brannon, pregnant and due to give birth at any moment, have just begun a much needed vacation. Sara is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Military Police and will be assigned to the Pentagon just six weeks after the baby is born-a career move that Kerney opposes. A vicious killer slashes his way into the midst of this family crisis, beginning by shooting a Santa Fe lawyer, and in quick succession murdering Kerney's beloved horse, a forensic psychologist and a probation officer. It doesn't take long for Kerney to realize that his entire family has been targeted, especially after the killer begins leaving messages that say, "Everyone Dies." Area law enforcement personnel rally around the chief and begin a massive investigation. The large and varied supporting cast is sometimes difficult to keep straight, but McGarrity's fondness for his characters is evident, as is his love for the harsh but beautiful mountain and desert landscape they inhabit. Readers familiar with the series will be happy to settle back with the chief, his complicated family and the men and women of the department for another enjoyable installment.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
McGarrity's Kevin Kerney series, set in New Mexico, has undergone a dramatic transformation over the years. At first, it played heavily on the mythic West and the difficulty of adapting rugged individualism to the modern world. Lately, the focus has shifted to the everyday life of a contemporary police chief--a good man trying to balance the contradictory roles of tough cop and sensitive husband. The new focus is far more difficult--Who wants quotidian reality when you've had a taste of mythic resonance?--but McGarrity rises to the occasion, drawing on his real-life experience as a cop and therapist. This time an unidentified psycho has his sights set on Kerney, his family, and his soon-to-be-born child. This is one serial-killer novel that unfolds without the usual high-concept trappings. McGarrity contrasts the painstaking investigatory work that leads to identifying a suspect with the personal crisis Kerney and his wife, Sara, face. Uncertain about how a child will affect their relationship, the couple must now contend with a much more immediate threat to their lives. The quiet, subtle attention to detail that has long been a hallmark of the Kerney series is once again on display here. The brooding, burned-out yet larger-than-life heroes of Ian Rankin or George Pelecanos have their appeal, yet there's plenty of room in the genre for a cop like Kevin Kearney, who broods not about the lack of meaning in his life but about finding time to help his wife decorate their new house. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
Jack Potter, perhaps the most successful and best known attorney in Santa Fe, had recently attended a gay rights costume ball dressed as Lady Justice. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Jack Potter, perhaps the most successful and best known attorney in Santa Fe, had recently attended a gay rights costume ball dressed as Lady Justice. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By Jayson
Format:Hardcover
Even though this novel is a stand alone book within the Kevin Kerney series of novels, it would probably help to read a few of the others first, only to flesh out some background history on some of the characters.
I think that's beneficial only because the murders that plague Santa Fe, NM and Kevin Kerney's department hits close to home. First a seemingly random, yet planned murder of a gay attorney in town has the community and the police baffled. As the story progresses and the body count increases, it soon becomes evident that the murderer is singling out and sending a very private yet cryptic message to Kerney.
Kerney then realizes that his pregnant wife, and his estranged son may also be targets, and the clues are vague at best. This is no ordinary killer, this one has spent a lot of time crafting his trade and will have the reader guessing for quite sometime on who's next and where we are going.
That's the testament to this novel. You can really empathize with Kerney as he begins to feel helpless for not only himself but those few remaining close to him. The novel does a great job in pacing the action and guesswork, and you'd be surprised how fluid it moves along, all the while the bodies start stacking up.
The only issue I had that prevented me from assigning 5 stars was the very last chapter. After the climax, which was a little short after such a wonderful buildup, the last chapter jumped the reader a few weeks forward and everything was back to normal...too quickly and done within only a few brief pages.
Format:Hardcover
I had never heard of Michael McGarrity, and found the cover and the plot summary both a bit off-putting, and wasn't expecting to like this book. I was delightfully surprised to discover that unlike many writers in the murder, mayhem and mystery genre, McGarrity didn't slipslide at all into the murky depths of horrifying psychotic evil, gratuitous garbage-language,-sex,-blood,-gore and cruelty, and wallow there for several hundred pages.
He wrote a book about a psychotic killer, yes, but he didn't allow his writing to sink to the level of the killer. It's a very good book with breadth and depth even with a "less-is-more" control over the verbiage, which I like and respect. His story line and characters are engaging. The mystery is compellingly presented. I finished it and rushed to my nearest bookstore to buy all the other Mike McGarrity murder, mayhem and mystery books and have since read them and found them as engaging as Everybody Dies! Keep on writing, Mr. McGarrity!
By A. Steward
Format:Hardcover
Everyone Dies is the newest in a great series, but not the best of the series. We get the continuation of Chief Kerney's relationship with his often absent wife, his recently discovered son and other characters who have grown familiar as the series has developed. There are a lot of violent murders and the gradual introduction to the murderer as he pursues his agenda. It is the good police work and quick analysis of the evidence as the case takes unexpected twists and turns that keeps the reader's attention. It is a exciting, quick read that I would recommend to anyone who likes a good mystery. Skip some of the poorly written "best sellers" that everyone is reading and dig into one of the better written mystery series and you will be rewarded.
I would recommend reading the earlier books in the series first to get the background on these characters. I have been a fan of the series since Tularosa and will continue to read any books by Michael McGarrity since they are well written and take place in areas of the Southwest with which I am very familiar.
Want to see more reviews on this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 33 reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Let The Killings Begin: Everyone Dies!
"Today he'd argued with a woman he adored, seen the murdered body of a man he liked, and found a horse he loved maliciously destroyed. It was a crummy way to start a vacation. Read more
Published on Nov 25 2003 by Kevin Tipple
3.0 out of 5 stars
More down time
This excellent series continues with a procedural that needs more of Kerney, and a little less of the spare step by step police investigation.
Published on Nov 13 2003 by John Bowes
4.0 out of 5 stars
Series in full stride
Being familiar with the genre of serial mysteries and having read a number of novels in this series, I think this work is pretty much at the apex of what a series can do. Read more
Published on Nov 3 2003 by Charles J. Marr
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
Everyone dies is an excellent police procedural novel--well-written and compelling, and (for me at least), had the fresh twist of being set in Santa Fe, instead of the usual gritty... Read more
Published on Oct 30 2003 by Elizabeth Hendry
3.0 out of 5 stars
Engrossing, readable, but undistinguished crime story
There are so many police-centered mystery novels flooding the market these days that even the most devoted fans of the genre(s) cannot possibly keep up. Read more
Published on Oct 14 2003 by Douglas A. Greenberg
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointed
Santa Fe Police Chief Kevin Kerney is on the hunt for a revenge killer while waiting for the birth of his child. Not everyone dies, but there is a lot of death. Read more
Published on Oct 10 2003 by A. Christie
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not everyone dies
Having never read Michael McGarrity fiction, I am unable to compare this novel with previous works in what is apparently a series. Read more
Published on Oct 5 2003 by gotta run now
3.0 out of 5 stars
GIVE IT 3 1/2 STARS
This is the first book I have read by this author and I was not impressed by his style of writing. With the first murder on page one to the last one in the next to lastchapter,... Read more
Published on Sep 14 2003 by G. Bowser
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good story and good continuation of back story in the series
With a book that's part of a series, there's always the question of whether the book makes any sense at all if you haven't been following the series all along. Read more
Published on Sep 2 2003 by R. Kelly Wagner
5.0 out of 5 stars
The story line is exciting
Santa Fe Chief of Police Kevin Kerney looks forward to the vacation with his beloved pregnant wife US Army MP LTC Sara Brannon. Read more
Published on Sep 2 2003 by Harriet Klausner
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
