Karen Rose, You Belong to Me

You Belong to Me

Karen Rose

Signet, Jun 7 2011, $7.99

ISBN: 9780451233578

Early in the morning while singing along with ZZ Top, Baltimore medical examiner Dr. Lucy Trask jogs. She stops when she notices sexagenarian Mr. Pugh sitting by himself at a chess table. She assumes he wandered out of his apartment so she goes over to help him home only to find the Alzheimer's ailing man dead with his face gone. She calls 911; Baltimore PD Detectives J.D. Fitzpatrick and Stevie Mazzetti lead the inquiry. The shoes are wrong leading Trask to realize the victim is not Mr. Pugh.

The victim is identified as Christopher Jones due to cheek implants, but the cops find Jones alive. Lucy realizes the deceased is cosmetic surgeon Dr. Russ Bennett, who she has a history with. Soon other tortured dead are found, some of which the M.E. knows. Lucy wonders if the psychopath is tied to the decades old incident that left her distrusting people.

This is a strong police procedural with a deep cast starting with the beleaguered heroine, the cop who she likes but avoids and the amoral killer. Fast-paced with superb twists, readers will relish this terrific tale of an insane predatory killing machine lacking any societal restraints.

Harriet Klausner