Karen Rose, Kill for Me

Kill for Me

Karen Rose

Grand Central, Feb 2009, $16.99

ISBN: 0446510300

In Dutton, Georgia., Georgia Bureau of Investigation's special agent Daniel Vartanian and his partner Luke Papadopoulis have solved two interrelated cases that started thirteen years ago (see 'Scream For Me'). However, their work is not done, as remnants of an affluent rape gang whom for the most part never faced justice as money rules, survives in a different form. This gang that seems to be centered in the Dutton area is abducting female teens and selling them as sexual merchandise to perverted predators. An attempted raid to catch the leader of the trafficking network ends tragically with five girls murdered and the unknown chief still free.

Daniel's sister, NYC ADA Susannah is also involved hoping to rescue other victims before Charles and his horde sell them in a damaged goods reduction sale; she is intimately knowledgeable about the sex slave commodity market. However, two teens rescued during the raid provide useful information, but the GBI agents and the ADA remain ignorant that one of their peers is making a lot more money peddling insider information to Charles.

This is a stupendous police procedural suspense thriller containing a complex storyline and a large cast although many are corpses. The storyline is fast-paced and filled with action from the onset and never slows down as the 'Me-Me' trilogy (see 'Scream For Me' and 'Die For Me') ends with a vivid violent finish. The romantic subplot between Susannah and Luke is handled deftly as each has a history that has them fleeing commitment and both knows bringing down the ruthless human traffickers who diabolically use chat lines to find their prey comes before their attraction. 'Kill For Me' is an exhilarating thriller.

Harriet Klausner