Monday, April 14, 2014

The Murder Wall by Mari Hannah

The Murder Wall is the wall in the police common room where the pictures of murder victims hang until their case is solved or relegated to the cold case files.  Detective Kate Daniels sees the pictures of the two murder victims she discovered a year ago every day at work, and it continues to dig at her that she never found their killer.

Then another murder is reported, and Kate is given the opportunity to be the officer in charge.  This is her first chance to be the lead investigator and she is determined to do everything correctly this time.  The problem is that she recognizes the victim and then hides that fact from her commanding officer.  Unfortunately, that's not the end of the bad news.  As the days pass, more bodies are discovered and it becomes apparent that there is a serial killer on the loose, who has now progressed to a spree killer.  All the murder victims seem to be unrelated, although there is a religious theme running through the murders. 

As Kate tries to put the pieces together, she also struggles with her private life.  She has concentrated exclusively on her career and she doesn't have anyone to share her life with.  Can she carve out time for a love interest and still be effective?  What is more important to her?

Mari Hannah has written a compelling police procedural murder mystery.  Kate is ambitious and driven, but is starting to realize the price she is paying for that ambition.  The killer is clever and there is a drumbeat of suspense as the bodies start to add up.  This book is recommended for mystery lovers.

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