Andrea Kane, Dark Room

Dark Room

Andrea Kane

Morrow, Apr 2007, $23.95

ISBN: 0060741341

On Christmas Eve 1989 in Brooklyn, preadolescent Morgan Winter sneaks down to look at her gifts only to find two presents that she will haunt her soul forever; her parents corpses. Seventeen years later the murder of her beloved family still haunts her. Now the case of killing her father, an ADA, is being reopened as new evidence points that the confessed killer Nate Schiller could not have done those homicides as he was in Harlem killing a cop Goddfrey and a gang leader Hernandez. Nate's confession was to keep him alive behind bars as murdering an ADA is not on a par of that of a gang leader who has some followers in prison.

Former NYPD Homicide Detective Pete "Monty" Montgomery (see WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME), a private investigator, agrees to make inquires into the re-heated Winter murders, but first informs Morgan what occurred. His photojournalist son Lane helps his dad especially with his strong contacts with the Intel crowd. As Lane and Morgan fall in love, Monty finds the case already filled with one odd twist with Schiller exposed; but even a homicide veteran like him is not prepared for the spins through Manhattan's most powerful.

Though there is too much coincidence in the plot, fans of romantic police procedural will appreciate this fine thriller in which the legal system and the heroine are tested. The storyline is action-packed as the Montgomery duo make inquiries into what was considered a closed case that has suddenly turned into a heated cold case. Fans will enjoy this exciting sequel as Monty father and son seek closure for Morgan.

Harriet Klausner