Wednesday, April 14, 2010

212 by Alafair Burke (2010)


In this third NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher novel, Megan Gunther, a sophomore, finds herself the target of threats on a campus website dedicated to gossip. Someone knows her daily routine in unsettling detail, but even when she goes to the police, they tell her there's nothing they can do until there is an actual physical threat made.

When Megan is brutally murdered in her own apartment and her roommate is hospitalized as well, Detective Ellie Hatcher and her straight-talking partner J.J. Rogan take the case. They soon discover a connection between Megan's murder and another one involving a real estate agent who had been living a dangerous double life. The stakes are raised when Megan's surviving roommate disappears and Det. Hatcher realizes that she must be found before yet another young woman dies.

With twists and turns and compassion doled out in equal measure, 212 is a satisfying read that has me eager for Burke to pen the next in this intelligent and topical series set in contemporary New York City.

No comments: