Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Revelations-Laurel Dewey

Revelations
Laurel Dewey
The Story Plant, Jun 14 2011, $17.95
ISBN: 9780984190553

In Denver, the multi-syllable medical babble denotes one scary world to thirty-something police detective Jane Perry: cancer; cervical is very nasty but she rejects the doc’s happy pills. She asks her boss Sergeant Weyler for a week off, but fails to tell him why so he says no. Instead they will work a case in nearby Midas whose police chief is Weyler’s buddy.

Fifteen year old Jake Van Gorden attempted suicide by jumping off a bridge, but instead was abducted. The family has received notes from the kidapper that imply Jake lives but none demand money or anything for that matter. Jane knows time is of the essence in a kidnapping so though she thinks the teen has set the scenario up she heads up to Midas to investigate the prime suspect, fifty-nine year old Jordan Copeland, who was released from prison seven years ago after spending over three decades behind bars for abducting and murdering a retarded boy in New Jersey. However the more she learns about Jordan, the less she believes he is guilty; but if not him who?

The third Jane Perry police procedural (see Protector and Redemption) is an excellent tale that contains two strong subplots. The obvious first is the kidnapping as Jane follows clues that take her in odd directions away from the only suspect (besides in her mind the victim). The second focuses on Jane’s personal life as she struggles with her health scare (her mom died at an early age from cancer), her attraction to bar owner Hank, and Revelations that shake her core foundation. Laurel Dewey writes a super investigative thriller.

Harriet Klausner

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