Faces of the Gone-Brad Parks

Faces of the Gone
Brad Parks
Minotaur, Dec 8 2009, $25.99
ISBN: 9780312574772

In Newark four men were assassinated with a bullet to their respective head and left in an empty lot. The cops assume the mass murders are connected to a robbery at a nearby bar. The media jumps on what the cops tell them.

Thus Newark Eagle-Examiner investigative reporter Carter Ross sees the killings in his paper. He disagrees with the official take and begins to work the streets. The four victims seem to have no connection beyond living in Jersey. He has editor Tina Thompson, Cuban-American intern Tommy Hernandez and stripper Tynesha Dales to assist him as one of the victims was an exotic dancer. Still he struggles to connect the dots and is unaware the Director is watching the thirty something journalist.

The lead pairing of the reporter vs. the Director makes for an enjoyable fast-paced investigative thriller with ironically the audience identifying the killer before the cops or the journalist can. From the opening mass murder scene until the final confrontation that fans anticipate, Faces of the Gone is action-packed throughout as the Director continues his gruesome business patiently waiting for Carter and his team to stumble onto who he is.

Harriet Klausner