Theresa Monsour, Dark House

Theresa Monsour, Dark House - In the remote Iron Range section of Minnesota, though at least ten years older than her, Professor Serene Ransom picks up early twenties "Catch" Clancy, a bartender at Maggie's Red Door, though he is slightly older than her usual boy toy. Catch fails to lock up when a snowmobile rider enters the place with a shotgun. Serene distracts the killer with her pistol while Catch hammers the robber with a bottle of Daniels. Serene's "pink" voice coaxes Catch into shooting the intruder and she fires, also killing the robber. Though she says it was self-defense, he says they would not be believed. After disposing of the body, Serene takes Catch to her St. Paul home.

The local sheriff believes that Catch killed the snowmobile rider before fleeing with a blonde. He wants to question Catch so he asks the St. Paul Police Department to find him. Homicide Sergeant Paris Murphy is assigned to track him down; she quickly connects him to Serene, but lacks CLEAN CUT evidence. Though concern for her father following his heart attack keeps her from fully concentrating, Paris uses herself as bait to catch a dangerous, murderous pair led by a female sex predator.

DARK HOUSE, the terrific third Paris police procedural is a fabulous tale as the audience sees the fugitives more often than the cops. Readers gain incredible insight into the minds of Catch, who is a mix of innocence (nickname from his days as a hockey goalie) and hardened soul (accidentally killed his father and lives with busted up ankles), and the macabre Serene. Surprisingly Paris takes a back seat to this duo, but still provides her usual sleuthing skills and voluntarily plays the mouse to the two dangerous cats.

Putnam, May 2005, $24.95

ISBN: 0399152903

Harriet Klausner