Open Season-Maryann Miller

Open Season
Maryann Miller
Five Star, Jan 5 2010, $25.95
ISBN 9781594149153

During an undercover drug sting that went ugly, Dallas police detective Sarah Kingsly’s partner John was killed during a sting operation; at the same his killer fired at him, Sarah shot his murderer a teenage African-American male. Sarah remains on the job, but is fearful of what the Dallas Review Board will determine though she feels she did everything in accordance with procedure. DPD wants her scalp to clam the Black community as everyone except Sarah ignores a cop was killed.

The DPD decides to team her up with African-American partner Angel Johnson as a public relations ploy; Angel’s family pressures her to demand a different partner. Neither female trusts the other, which impedes their investigation into murders at the Galleria Mall. Someone used piano wire to garrote to death three drug using men. Each new killing has an increasingly deeper deranged message by the psychopath as if whatever grip on reality the culprit had is melting away. If Sarah and Angel fail to move past their racial divide soonest, people will be dead by an out of control serial killer.

This is a great taut police procedural starring two fully developed lead characters with personal issues that keep them from forging the type of partnership that Sarah had with John. Although loaded with plenty of typical law enforcement action, the deep look at the psyche of both females make for a fabulous thriller. Fans will want more appearances by the fab females and police shrink Doc Murray, whose professional relationship with especially remroseful Sarah brings freshness to a strong character driven story line.

Harriet Klausner