John Lutz, Chill of Night

Chill of Night

John Lutz

Pinnacle, Nov 2006, $6.99

ISBN 0786016353

He retired from NYPD after taking a bullet while chasing down a serial killer, but former homicide detective Artemis Beam knows he really left because he no longer had the patience to deal with unctuous superiors who interfered, not helped, on investigations. However, retirement is tedious and with the recent suicide of his wife ennui has set in on top of the despondency and survivor He, in a dark mood, negatively muses on what he could have done different.

Because of his well earned reputation for catching serial killers, Deputy Chief Andy da Vinci asks Beam to help the department capture the "Justice Killer"; this serial killer murders people who served as foremen on juries that freed the "guilty"; the culprit leaves behind a trademark red J drawn on the victim's body. Beam agrees to investigate, but quickly realizes the Justice Killer seems one step ahead of the police making him wonder if an insider is the murderer. The former cop concludes that the Justice killer has plans to leave a J on the task force hunting him or perhaps even her.

Chill Of Night is a typical serial killer cat and mouse thriller except that talented John Lutz refreshes the sub-genre with a sense of the terror gripping the city and how much the J-killer debilitates the justice system. The suspense remains in the stratosphere from the moment da Vinci brings out of retirement Beam and never slows down until the final confrontation between the killer and the retired cop ends with a masterful twist that readers will realize afterward was in our face, but brilliantly disguised. Mr. Lutz's fans or anyone who appreciate a tense police procedural will appreciate this high octane thriller.

Harriet Klausner