Shaken

The backstory behind Konrath's seventh Jacqueline ( Jack ) Daniels mystery is almost as interesting as the story itself. A devotee of alternative-publishing models, Konrath has sold more than 100,000 e-books of his previous works. This time he switched the typical publishing cycle by beginning with the electronic version in October and following this month with the print edition from AmazonEncore. In addition, the book combines characters from the Jack Daniels series with ultracreepy bad guy Luther Kite, who has appeared in several novels by Konrath's friend, Blake Crouch. The two authors cowrote Serial Uncut (2009), which also features Daniels and Kite, and will reunite again in Stirred (to appear later in 2011), which will be the concluding volume in both series. But what about the story itself? Konrath's innovative streak isn't limited to publishing models; he has narrative tricks up his sleeve, too. Many writers have written prequels, and many have jumped from past to present and back again in telling their stories, but Konrath does both simultaneously. In Shaken, we encounter Lieutenant Jack Daniels of the Chicago Police Department at three distinct points in time: in the present day, captured and soon to be tortured by the legendary Mr. K. (not Luther Kite, incidentally), a serial killer whom Daniels has been tracking unsuccessfully throughout her career; 25 years earlier, when she was a rookie cop and tangled with Mr. K. for the first time; and 21 years earlier, when she was outsmarted by the wily serial killer just as she appeared to have him in her grasp. The narrative back-and-forthing is clever, certainly, but it also works well as a storytelling device, both in terms of building suspense (How will Jack escape her current predicament?) and in terms of tracking how a flawed but fascinating character has evolved over time. Konrath also handles the presence in one story of two palpably evil serial killers with panache, never allowing these world-class scenery-chewers to chow down at the same time. Mr. K. has center stage here, but Luther lurks menacingly, calmly awaiting his own star turn in the forthcoming Stirred. There are a few clumsy moments along the way dialogue that clunks a bit, for example but most readers, caught in the narrative whiplash that tantalizingly pushes them forward and then pulls them back, won't notice at all.--Ott, Bill Copyright 2010 Booklist

Chicago police detective Jack Daniels faces death and a heavy dose of flashbacks.When she comes to, Lt. Jacqueline Daniels is lying bound, gagged and stripped to her T-shirt and panties in a storage locker. Someone has kidnapped her with the firm intention of torturing her to death, and she knows who. It's the cold-blooded hit man police have dubbed Mr. K, a man responsible for more than 100 killings across the country. Jack and Mr. K have tangled before, and while she struggles in vain to free herself and watches the clock her captor has thoughtfully provided mark off the minutes till he comes to play with her, she reminisces about the time three years ago when she and her partner, Det. Herb Benedict, almost caught Mr. K; the day back in 1989, shortly after she transferred to Homicide, when she was working the case of the tortured escorts and had to decide whether to accept her boyfriend Alan's proposal; her eventful 29th birthday, when she was still working Vice; and the psychiatrist's lecture to her and her fellow cadets that raised the question of whether it was more evil to kill people for money or for pleasure. The multiple-flashback structure is hardly original, but Konrath works it with an earnestness that makes his horrors considerably more disciplined than usual (Cherry Bomb,2009, etc.).Spoiler alert: Like an R-rated Pearl White, Jack will be rescued repeatedly from certain death, presumably to be staked out again forStirrednext year.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.