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4.0étoiles sur 5
Jack the Reaper, Avril 27 2002
From the beginning Homicide detective Jimmy Parisi and his partner Doc Gibron know that their killer is something different. The first victim, a runner was attacked, carefully eviscerated, and then mutilated with chilling efficiency. The crime screamed 'serial killer,' but there was something else there as well, something besides uncontrolled rage, something cold and calculating. Parisi wonders if the careful removal of organs is more than just souvenir taking. Instead, he suspects that he has a killer who has found the perfect job, organ selling. Using modern hi-tech as well as good basic investigation, the theory is confirmed and the chase is on. The trail leads not only through the streets of the city but into the shadowy world of the Chicago mafia. Gradually the detective builds a picture of the killer and begins to narrow down the list of suspects. Parisi must also come to terms with the involvement of his young wife, Natalie, a rookie police officer, who does not intend to take a back seat while he puts his own life at risk. Inevitably, the killer turns the tables, and Parisi finds the very things he holds dear put at risk. The book starts out shakily, with a machine gun style of narration and dialogue which does not always make sense in the context of the characters. Having Parisi's partner be a Ph.D. who reads poetry in the patrol car is an interesting device. Having him speak a bit like a Chicago hood is somewhat jarring. Laird has some difficulty giving his characters individual voices (everyone sounds tough and hard-boiled). I am not sure if he improved as the book went on or whether I simply acclimatized to the peculiarities of his writing style, but every thing eventually came together and I quickly found myself enjoying a book I initially did not like. One thing I do take exception to is long sections of the novel spent inside the killer's head. Even if these are well written they always give away too much information and steal some of the mystery from the plot. 'Cutter' is no exception. I understand the purpose of the plot device, but feel this is done better in the third person than the first. I think that the reader should be discovering the book with the investigator rather than waiting for him to catch up. Laird manages to avoid the worst crimes of this narrative style, but he still manages to give the reader too much information. Even if this is not a five star novel, it is a very respectable effort by a new writer. Be warned that the violence is quite graphic and that there is a bit too much gratuitous sex for conservative tastes. Thomas Laird has managed to create a book both grim and upbeat with a good, driving plot. Worth looking for.
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