Ladykiller
Non-series
Lawrence
Light and Meredith
Anthony
Oceanview Publishing (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-933515-05-8 (1933515058)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933515-05-2 (9781933515052)
Publication Date: April 2007
List Price: $22.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): In the city that never sleeps, evil is wide awake.
From the bright lights of Times Square to the dark alleys of New York,
the Ladykiller is at work – and at prey.
Four women savagely murdered on the mean streets of New York. The
Ladykiller leaves no trail, no clues.
The pressure is on for NYPD detective Dave Dillon: either he solves the
crime, or he can kiss his job goodbye. When Dave joins forces with
Megan Morrison, a beautiful young social worker, the search for a
cold-hearted killer leads to a hot romance. But a host of forces
threaten to intrude: Nita, Megan’s jealous mentor, would delight
in derailing the romance between Dave and Megan, as would Jamie, a
determined detective with her own not-so-hidden agenda. And
Dave’s shadowy past is never far behind. The clock is ticking for
Dave and Megan. Will they close in on the shocking truth behind the
crimes, or will it close in on them?
In the world of the Ladykiller, passion can turn deadly in a New York
minute.
Review: The
papers have coined the term Ladykiller to describe a serial killer who
has already struck three times, and kills a fourth woman in the opening
chapter of Ladykiller, a new
book by the married writing team of Lawrence Light and Meredith
Anthony. The couple have created a compelling character in NYPD
detective Dave Dillon and crafted an interesting, if somewhat flawed,
series of crimes for him to solve.
The four murdered women apparently have nothing in common, living in
different areas of the city and having different socioeconomic
backgrounds. But all were killed in the same way: a 45-calibre bullet
through the right eye at close range. Detective Dave Dillon of the NYPD
is assigned the case, and is aggressive in pursuing leads. Just when he
thinks his investigation is making progress, there's a twist: a man is
killed in the same manner. Was it wrong to assume the killer was simply
stalking women? Could this latest murder be a copycat crime? Or is
there a common thread linking these crimes that has nothing to do with
gender?
There are a couple of plot points that tend to weaken the overall
story. The crimes are set in 1991 where the NYPD seemingly have limited
forensic skills (at least compared with what ostensibly is the norm
today). This leaves the authors with the freedom to have the killer
walk away from the crime scene leaving minimal evidence to be found by
the authorities. Murders of this nature would seem to leave an
abundance of clues and setting the book in the present day would
require a killer that was far more careful. Furthermore, it seems
highly improbable that one would calmly stare at their killer, someone
who was pointing a gun just a few inches from their right eye, even if
they knew them. Maybe once or twice, but some 6 or 7 people are
ultimately killed in this way in Ladykiller.
It's simply not credible.
The authors reveal the identity of the Ladykiller early in the book
which removes a huge element of suspense from the story. Typically in a
book with a known killer, the plot becomes a police procedural. But not
in this case: there is nothing terribly methodical about the way Dillon
handles his investigation. Thus to keep the reader's interest, what
follows is a series of unexpected twists and turns that are
hit-and-miss; some work within the context of the plot, some don't.
Fortunately, the ending works, and provides an element of surprise that
will have the reader thumbing back through the pages to see how they
missed anticipating this startling conclusion.
Special thanks to Maryglenn McCombs Book Publicity for providing an ARC of Ladykiller for this review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Ladykiller? How would you rate it?
Novels by these authors …
Ladykiller
Oceanview Publishing (Hardcover), April 2007
ISBN-10: 1-933515-05-8 (1933515058)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933515-05-2 (9781933515052)
Omnimystery keywords for Ladykiller ...
Location(s) referenced: New York City.
