Review by Booklist Review
In the middle of a murder investigation that keeps turning up endless questions and zero answers, New Jersey state cop Doug Brock laments he has ""a tendency to clear suspects who then go on to kill people."" Years ago he sought the man who murdered a philanthropist with a sniper-perfect shot through the heart. Brock had a pretty good idea that the killer was an embittered loser named Danny Phelan, but he couldn't prove it and this failing haunts him as the present narrative begins. Another nice man is murdered, all the details are similar to the earlier shooting, and the profilers declare Phelan a ""person of interest."" Is a man dead because Brock wasn't good enough? What follows is a high-speed narrative deploying some of the genre's stock figures the skeptical girlfriend, the überworldly partner but gettting good work out of them. Rosenfelt's fondness for one-liners is also fortunately muted, leaving him free to screw down the tension. The standoff at the end is another genre staple, but this one is completely fresh. You'll never guess who it is holding the gun.--Don Crinklaw Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In Edgar finalist Rosenfelt's outstanding third Doug Brock novel (after 2018's Fade to Black), Brock, a New Jersey State Police homicide lieutenant who lost some of his memories after being shot in the head several years earlier, hopes this handicap won't compromise a high-pressure investigation. Someone shot attorney Alex Randowsky through the heart as Randowsky was leaving a tennis court. The m.o. is identical to the murder of affluent businessman Walter Brookings, who was killed shortly before Brock's brain injury; Brock has no independent memories of his role in investigating that case. But as he reviews the case files, he's haunted by the possibility that gun collector Danny Phelan, a suspect he dismissed in Brookings's death, and who was in prison between the two killings, is actually responsible for both deaths. The investigation takes a personal turn when the killer sends Brock a taunting note, stating that he's already taken two lives, with 98 more to go. Dead ends and red herrings abound as the action builds to a jaw-dropping reveal. Rosenfelt knocks it out of the park with this fiendishly twisty serial killer thriller. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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