Don’t Look Twice-Andrew Gross

Don’t Look Twice
Andrew Gross
Morrow, Mar 3 2009, $25.99
ISBN: 9780061143441

It has been a year since the Grand Central Terminal bombing (see THE DARK TIDE) and Police Lieutenant Ty Hauck, head of the Violent Crimes Unit of Greenwich, Connecticut, is finally piecing together his life. He and his daughter Jess stop at a local convenience store when a drive-by shooting occurs. The man behind Hauck on the line is killed; the cops are unsure whether Hauck or federal prosecutor David Sanger was the target as they believe David was an innocent bystander.

Another possibility is the store owner was the intended target because his sone was one of the teens in a swimming pool when a girl drowned there. The killers screamed out her name as they fled. They find the car, which was stolen. Meanwhile at Pequot Woods Resort and Casino, pit boss Keith Kramer is killed; it turns out he and the victim at the store knew each other. The Federal Prosecutor had separate bank and credit accounts that he concealed from his wife. Every time Hauck feels he makes progress to uncover the powerful people behind the killings, another homicide occurs. The mysterious “they” blow up his house killing a police officer who was inside at the time. Despite warnings from his boss, the FBI, and the enemy, Hauck keeps investigating.

Andrew Gross provides a strong police procedural thriller starring a hero, who understands the advice of his peers is DON’T LOOK TWICE; but he ignores them and looks for the killers more than twice. The protagonist is a moral person who believes strongly not to back down and let others risk their lives making the inquiries that he feels he should do as part of his job. There is plenty of action as Hauck leaps into one incident after another. Though he may seem too much of a superhero as a single father action figure cop, the support cast brings realism to the mix of a terrific thriller.

Harriet Klausner