Thomas O'Callaghan Bone Thief

Bone Thief

Thomas O'Callaghan

Pinnacle Press, Jan 2006, $6.99

ISBN 0786018119

The serial killer removes the entire skeleton from his victims leaving behind skin, muscle and a form of identification. New York Police Department Lieutenant Detective John Driscoll leads the difficult investigation, that with each new corpse, the political suits and the "elated" media exponentially raise the pressure to stop the psychopath grows, though neither group has altruistic motives.

The Irish Catholic lead cop also struggles with his life outside the department. His beloved wife Collette lives in a vegetative state at home, as she has for five years since the accident that also killed their daughter, but his religious beliefs will not allow him to pull the plug on her; and his attraction to his partner Margaret only makes John feel more guilt. Still, he compartmentalizes his personal feelings into a back brain cell because John must concentrate on stopping this particular gruesome serial killer.

THE BONE THIEF makes this an exciting serial killer police procedural, though readers will wonder how John can keep his wife home (not just expense - think of the complexities of Terry Shiavo), though he is also a sympathetic character for trying to do right with his spouse. The storyline moves quickly, especially when the killer is performing his surgery, and to a lesser degree during moments of John's lament. However, the use of a young teen hacker while the cops barely can turn on their machines, seem double stereotypes from an earlier computer age (even an illiterate like me can surf the net). Still this is a tense thriller that fans who appreciate a novel killer will want to read.