On June 16, 2005 the body of a female is discovered in the smoking shell of a house fire in Atlanta, Georgia. Without clues to identify the victim or the person responsible for what is ruled arson and murder, Dennis Cane, lead detective, decides to take one last look at the crime scene. He finds a single black thread. On June 24 another female victim is found in a neighboring county. Through his resourcefulness, Dennis learns that a black thread was found at the site of this crime, but the cases go cold due to lack of evidence and bodies that cannot be identified. Two jurisdictions. Two separate cases. Two brutal and horrifying murders.
Over the next three years, literally clinging to threads, he begins to see a pattern: women are dying twice a year on June 16 and 24 at the hands of a serial killer. A murderer with knowledge of forensics and the foresight to choose a different police jurisdiction for each of his crimes, who is escaping punishment. Only Dennis is paying attention. Waiting for the killer to make a mistake. On June 16, 2008 a woman is discovered in the city limits of Peach Grove, Georgia, where Dennis now works. The woman survives, but is unable to identify her assailant because of heavy sedation as she fights for her life. But Dennis knows that this is the break he’s been waiting for. Racing against time, Dennis joins forces with Merlot Candy, a private investigator and the two set out on a quest that will bring them in contact with more evil than they could have ever imagined.
* * * * *
As
I have gotten older, I have become more and more a fan of police
procedurals and thrillers. There is just something about getting the
chance to get inside the mind of a killer. From a safe distance, of
course.
A
MOVING SCREEN starts out with a great plot and interesting main
characters however I didn't find that it lived up to its promise. It
got bogged down with details that were repeated over and over. There
are just so many times that I need to be told just what Merlot is
wearing or just what protective equipment the nurse needs to wear when
working with a severely burned victim.
I
also found that the dialogue was stilted in places to the extent that
the editor in me wanted to highlight it and send it back to the author.
Another thing that slowed down the story was an overabundance of the
details on the backgrounds of unimportant secondary characters.
The
ending was great as I didn't see it coming which does make reading this
book worthwhile in the end though I don't feel right recommending it to
my readers without pointing out the issues. Now mind you that
everyone's take on a book differs so always take my opinions with a
grain of salt.
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