Review by New York Times Review
HATH NOT A SERIAL KILLER eyes? Hath not a serial killer hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? If you prick him, does he not bleed? If you tickle him, does he not laugh? Well, let's see what the wife of a serial killer has to say about that in JoAnn Chaney's WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW (Flatiron, $25.99). In this perverse first novel, the exploits of a murderer are viewed from three perspectives: that of his wife, who still loves him; that of a journalist, who made her career because of him; and that of a police detective, who is still obsessed with him. Gloria Seever never intended to share her life with a man who would murder 31 people and bury their remains in the crawl space under the house. She just wasn't very observant. And really, who'd ever suspect Jacky Seever, who likes to dress up as a clown and entertain hospital-bound children, of torturing and killing women in the garage? "When you were married you made things work" is how Gloria explains her blind devotion to her homicidal husband - and her determination to stay out of the garage. "She'd made a promise and she was going to keep it." Years later, when Seever is safely locked up, another killer seems to be paying homage to his work. So does one of the lead homicide detectives on the case. In trying to understand Seever's appeal to his imitator, Ralph Loren of the Denver Police Department adopts his fashion sense, hairstyle and mannerisms, which alters his looks but doesn't do much for his deductive skills. But while that plot turn leads down a blind alley, Chaney has more success with her other, striking characters. Sammie Peterson, who has been laid off from her newspaper, sells cosmetics at a mall. Paul Hoskins, who also worked on the investigation, is now in the precinct's basement, poring over cold cases. And let's not forget Gloria, who is still known as Bluebeard's wife. The emergence of the copycat they call the Secondhand Killer gives everyone a collective lift. Hoskins comes up from the basement, Sammie goes back to writing crime stories, and as for Gloria . . . well, although she's "half-tempted to do something crazy," she clings to the one rule that has sustained her throughout her marriage: "Gloria knows nothing." And she never, ever lingers in the garage. HERE'S SOMETHING TO elevate your paranoia about traveling on overcrowded subways. I see you (Berkley, $26), a nasty little tale by the British author (and former police officer) Clare Mackintosh, articulates female riders' secret fears of being stalked by some silent watcher on the London Underground. Zoe Walker, one of the narrators in this well-told suspense story, follows the same routine - same train, same car, same door - when she commutes to and from her real estate job. Glancing over the ads in the evening paper, she's shocked to find her own photo advertising "dating services" on FindTheOne.com. She's not the only one, it turns out, and at least two of the women are later murdered. Mackintosh supplies refreshingly realistic domestic scenes for the women in this slow-burning narrative, including Kelly Swift of the British Transport Police, who talks her way onto this case to get back in the big leagues. She's a well-drawn character with a rich home life (another one of the author's strengths) and good company on this case, which - with the exception of a forced and truly awful ending - really hits home for daily commuters with robotic schedules and vivid imaginations. IS SHE TOUGH or is she tough? In Kathleen Kent's brawling crime novel, THE DIME (Mulholland/Little, Brown, $26), Betty (Riz) Rhyzyk and her girlfriend have left Brooklyn for Dallas - the real Dallas of "truck drivers, Mexican laborers, lawyers, parolees and cops mixed elbow to elbow with white privileged gringas driving expensive S.U.V.s." It's a good career move for the statuesque cop with the "hussy red" hair, who seems suited to the new criminal terrain of drug lords so cruel they leave severed heads as calling cards and biker gangs so brutal they "eat Hells Angels for breakfast." The plot revolves around the Asian sex- and drug-trafficking trade run by the cutest little old lady you ever did see, but the broader appeal is Kent's offbeat humor, which pulls up reins just before it takes the story over a cliff. LET US NOW praise the cozy mystery, so comforting on dark days, so warming on chilly nights - the literary equivalent of a cat. TWELVE ANGRY LIBRARIANS (Berkley Prime Crime, $26), the latest Cat in the Stacks mystery by Miranda James, checks a lot of essential boxes: college setting (check), academic politics (check), tasteful murder (check) and, of course, clever house cat (check). As host of the annual conference of the Southern Academic Library Association, Charlie Harris, interim library director at Athena College in Mississippi, finds himself fending off self-designated luminaries like the arrogant Gavin Fong, plenary speaker of the convention and the perfect candidate for murder. Gavin has applied for the job of library director that Charlie himself hopes to win, which makes socializing awkward; more so when Gavin keels over dead while delivering his incendiary keynote address ("The academic library is dying"). Good riddance - but a sweet opportunity for Charlie to exercise his detection skills, after consulting with his big old Maine coon cat, Diesel.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [January 1, 2017]
Review by Booklist Review
Historical-novelist Kent tries her hand at crime fiction in this first book of a planned series featuring hardened Brooklyn detective Betty Rhyzyk, who has relocated to Dallas. Betty is a terrific character, although the Texas setting seems to have set her up for a bit more personal conflict than necessary too New York, too tall, too redheaded, too lesbian but she bears up with the help of her partner, Jackie, and an interesting assortment of squad mates. Riz deals in equal measure with drug cartels and meth cults, domestic issues and the relentless heat, and the story moves along at a good clip. The violence is graphic but balanced by Betty's wry observations on life in Texas and by several terrific scenes, including one featuring a heroic band of Civil War reenactors. The book was inspired by a short story published in Dallas Noir, and the author has clearly enjoyed filling up an entire novel. A worthy addition to the ranks of strong female detectives, including Carol O'Connell's NYPD sergeant Kathleen Mallory and Jon Land's Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong.--Murphy, Jane Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Det. Betty Rhyzyk, a tough-as-nails Brooklyn cop transplanted to Dallas and the narrator of historical novelist Kent's outstanding first crime novel, works undercover in narcotics. At almost six feet tall with flaming red hair and a steady girlfriend, she's not the norm in Texas. When her latest case, involving notorious cocaine dealer Tomás "El Gitano" Ruiz, goes sour and leaves a stack of bodies, she's understandably shaken--and pissed off when the matter is turned over to homicide; Betty isn't one to let things go. So she and her team, including partner Seth Dutton, continue to work the case on the sly, and it seems the case is working Betty, too, when a nasty present from a crime scene turns up in her apartment, courtesy of a stalker who waltzed in unbeknownst to Betty's doctor girlfriend, Jackie, and left unnoticed. As the tension grows, Betty isn't sure that the cartels are responsible, and her sources agree-this looks like something much closer to home and even more dangerous. Kent (The Outcasts) never sacrifices robust characters, or biting humor, during scenes of brutal violence, which, though disturbing, are essential to the rich plot. Agent: Julie Barer, Book Group. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
After three historical novels, including the best-selling Heretic's Daughter, Kent moves into crime fiction with this gritty series debut. Brooklyn detective Betty Rhyzyk has moved to Dallas for a more balanced life with her girlfriend, and while policing in the East has toughened her up, Betty is still unprepared for the drug trafficking cartel she encounters in the Southwest. Fortunately, the voice of tough cop Uncle Benny in her head helps her make hard decisions as the new leader of a surveillance team. They are ready to take down a major drug dealer when things go very wrong. As Betty discovers how the action in Dallas is connected to a bust she made in Brooklyn, she also must deal with hostile subordinates and her girlfriend's -unwelcoming family. -VERDICT This fast-paced, adrenaline--producing -suspense novel will appeal to Karin Slaug-hter fans; it will also attract crime fiction aficionados who appreciate Minerva -Koenig's Julia Kalas series for its Texas setting and resilient female -protagonist with a sixth sense. [See Prepub Alert, 4/26/16.]--Sharon Mensing, Emerald Mountain Sch., Steamboat Springs, CO © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Kent (The Outcasts, 2013, etc.) introduces a tough and engaging new detective in this police thriller set in Dallas.Betty Rhyzyk has transferred to the Dallas PD after beginning her career in Brooklyn, a move that requires pretty major adjustments, especially for an almost-6-foot-tall, red-haired Polish Yankee lesbian. At heart, Betty is just a really good cop, and when she's on the front lines of a drug bust gone wrong, she quickly realizes, as the bodies stack up, that the mystery is much more sophisticated and far-reaching than it seems. The final twist that finds Betty captured and held prisoner becomes a bit overwhelming, but the mystery succeeds as both whodunit and as a deeper character-driven novel. Kent neatly balances the tough talk and high body count of a traditional hard-boiled detective novel, reminiscent of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, with the modern strength of this complex, flawed, and interesting woman. The rapport between Betty and her co-workers, her insecurities and love for her domestic partner, her memories of the New York cop uncle who inspired her to follow in his footstepsevery layer of this novel strikes the right note. And narrating it all is Betty herself, reflective, plainspoken, and alternately incredibly scared and incredibly brave. She knows how to take risks in her career, but can she balance that with a real private life, considering that the model provided by her own parents was dysfunctional in the extreme? Luckily, this seems to be the first in a series, so we'll have a chance to find out. Violent, sexy, and completely absorbing. Kent's detective is Sam Spade reincarnatedas a brilliant, modern woman. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
