Daniel Hecht Puppets

Puppets

Daniel Hecht

Bloomsbury, Jul 2005, $14.95, 448 pp.

ISBN: 1582344957

In 1999 in White Plains, New York, New York State Police Detective Morgan "Mo" Ford and his partner Mike St. Pierre become involved with the useof deadly force. Mo kills violent rape suspect Big Willie, the cop's second deadly incident. Though exonerated, Mo's boss Marden warns him to watch his butt as Westchester County DA Flannery wants to hang him. Marden approves sick leave so Mo can recover from the injuries he received from the refrigerator built Big Willie.

Before Mo can go on leave, he is asked by White Plains Police to come to a murder scene. To his chagrin, the victim Daniel O'Connor is strung up with the same M.O. employed by the Howdy Doody serial killer who murdered thirteen people in the New York-New Jersey area. However, the FBI arrested the Howdy Doody Killer three months ago. Mo wonders if there is copy cat murderer or if the wrong person is behind bars. Meanwhile Flannery tells Mo he wants him on the case because if something goes wrong he has the perfect fall guy.

This reprint of a powerful police procedural will have readers up late in a one sitting read from the moment Mo chokes Big Willie out for the count. The storyline works on two levels, the investigation and the politics. PUPPETS is as good a serial killer tale as readers will find. An added bonus for readers is the as fascinating psychological thriller SKULL SESSION will be reprinted also.

Harriet Klausner