Friday, 16 December 2011

Book ~ "Back on Murder" (2010) J. Mark Bertrand

From Amazon ~ Roland March, on the verge of being cut loose from the Houston Police Department after suffering a personal tragedy that has affected his job performance, is given one last chance after he notices evidence of a missing female victim at a gang-related multiple-murder scene. March tries to connect the female victim with Hannah Mayhew, a teenager who performed outreach work for her church and who recently disappeared from a local mall; his superiors are unconvinced but they agree to transfer March to the Hannah Mayhew task force. He continues to investigate the connection, working under the radar, with the help of a youth pastor, to prove his suspicions. In his personal life, March tries to reconnect with his wife, who is also suffering. Carefully drawn details of police work, well-delineated characters, multiple interesting cases, and a vivid Houston setting add to the strong mystery.

This book interested me because I like murder mysteries. It wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't great.

Though it was less than 400 pages, it seemed like a looooong book. I kept checking the chapter menu to see how far along I way and how far I still had to go.

I found that there were so many characters in this book, especially the number of cops, that I couldn't keep them all straight.

Something happened in March's past that haunts him but you don't find out what it is until about midway. Given what it was (I kind of figured it out anyway), it would have been better knowing what it was so you'd understand his behaviour.

The ending was so-so, not overly exciting. This was the first in a series but I won't be rushing out to read the others.

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