Fair Warning by Michael Connelly

 

Reporter Jack McEvoy is surprised to find LAPD homicide detectives at his door.  They are there about a woman who has been found murdered and Jack had briefly dated her a year ago.  The detectives are suspicious of him and even though Jack offers up his DNA for elimination purposes, they seem to be treating him as a suspect.  Jack uses his reporter training to try to find out more about the woman and the murder and that makes the detectives angry, with Jack even ending up in jail for a night to give the detectives probably cause to search his apartment.  

Jack finds that the woman's neck was broken in what is called an internal decapitation.  Using his contacts, he finds that there are other women who have died this way recently and they all share a common trait; they all used a specific DNA testing service.  Now Jack starts to believe that there is a serial killer on the loose who uses the results from that service to target women who are vulnerable to his approach.  

Jack realizes he needs help with the story and more importantly, the investigation.  He contacts Rachel Walling, a former FBI profiler and his former lover.  She is now doing investigative work and agrees to help him.  His editor also assigns another reporter, Emily, to help him with the legwork and writing.  Together the team starts to make breakthroughs to finding the killer but the killer soon realizes that someone is on to him.  He starts to kill those involved in any way who might know his identity and then starts to target the investigative team.  Who will be successful, the killer or those seeking him?

This is the third novel in the Jack McEvoy series.  Jack was the reporter who found The Poet, a serial killer that was the subject of one of Connelly's best ever novels.  His relationship with Rachel has ebbed and flowed over the years and usually ends up badly due to Jack's inability to fully trust anyone and his unfortunate trait of putting his career and the story ahead of any relationships he is involved in.  The novel also highlights the ethical issues involved in the popular DNA testing that so many have participated in.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.