From Publishers Weekly
Randisi's fifth Joe Keough thriller/mystery (after 2002's East of the Arch) features a distinctive double plot and plenty of humanizing detail, though the disparate elements never quite form a coherent whole. Keough, now a member of the Federal Serial Killer Task Force, and partner Harriet Connors are dispatched from Washington to St. Louis and Chicago, respectively. In St. Louis, three young girls have been kidnapped and strangled; in Chicago, three young boys have been kidnapped and strangled. There are odd parallels among the murders, and the pair must determine if there is one killer or two. The author lets the reader in on the answer early (both killers appear separately), but neither detective picks up on the clues to their quirky relationship as quickly as one might expect. Still, Randisi manages to wring plenty of tension from the petty turf battles between feds and locals and the fear that another victim will die before Keough and Connors can catch the culprits.
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From Booklist
Young girls are kidnapped and killed in Chicago. A case in St. Louis looks similar, except the victims are boys. Joe Keough and his partner, Harriet Connors, are assigned by the Federal Serial Killer Task Force to consult on the cases. Both investigators encounter resistance from the local cops, who prove reluctant to accept federal intervention and to cooperate with other jurisdictions. Joe and Harriet form the bridge between the two groups, and as they examine the evidence, they come to believe the killer may be the same in both locales. Yet how can the killer seemingly be in two places at once? Randisi's Keough mysteries are understated gems, and this one is no exception. The plot moves quickly and logically; readers share red herrings with the investigating officers and work in tandem with them as a solution approaches. The dialogue is credible, and the characters are fleshed out to be more than plot devices. An unsettling resolution adds just the right touch of uncertainty to this fine crime novel.
Wes LukowskyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
