nomadreader

The backstory: Alafair Burke is one of my favorite mystery writers. All Day and a Night  is the fifth novel in her NYPD detective Ellie Hatcher series (reviews of the first four: Dead Connection , Angel's Tip , 212 ,  and Never Tell. ) Also see my reviews of the three titles in her Portland ADA Samantha Kincaid series ( Judgment Calls ,  Missing Justice , and Close Case ) and her two stand alone mysteries ( Long Gone  and If You Were Here ). The basics: When Brooklyn psychiatrist Helen Brunswick is murdered in a similar manner to how six prostitutes were murdered by Anthony Amaro in Utica and New York City twenty years ago, Ellie Hatcher and her partner are tasked with taking a fresh look at the original victims to see if the same person could have killed all the women. Amaro is in prison, so he didn't kill Brunswick. My thoughts: As much as I love police procedural mysteries, there are special places in my heart for both stories about wrongful convictions and ...

The backstory: Never Tell  is the fourth novel in Alafair Burke's Ellie Hatcher series (my reviews of the first three: Dead Connection , Angels' Tip  and 212 .) When I accepted Never Tell  from the publisher for review in May, I had to read any of Alafair Burke's books. I intended to, so I said yes and figured I'd catch up in a year or two. Seven months and eight books later, I've raced through them all and am already eagerly anticipating her next novel, If You Were Here , a stand-alone thriller coming in June 2013. The basics: Julia Whitmire, a wealthy, talented, and beautiful sixteen-year-old, is found dead in her bathtub. The cops arriving on the scene classify it as a homicide: her wrists are slit and she left behind a suicide note. Her mother, however, is insistent Julia was murdered and persuades the NYPD to look into. Detective Ellie Hatcher doesn't buy it, but her partner J.J. Rogan is more open-minded. My thoughts: If I had to describe Alafair Burke...

The backstory: 212  is the third novel in Alafair Burke's series featuring NYPD homicide detective Ellie Hatcher (my reviews of Dead Connection  and Angel's Tip .) The basics: A bodyguard for a Donald Trump-like real estate magnate is found murdered in a penthouse apartment at 212, a high profile address that shares its numbers with New York City's original area code. Next NYU student Megan Gunther finds threats about her, along with her detailed schedule, posted on a campus gossip website and fears for her safety. My thoughts: After adoring Angel's Tip , I went into 212  with high expectations. I'm thrilled to report 212  is even better than its predecessor. Burke skillfully weaves multiple storylines into a narrative that is complex and smart but never overwhelming or confusing. The moving parts never become difficult to track, even as the plot's complexity increases. Ellie Hatcher is also at her best here. I didn't adore Ellie in Dead Connection , b...

The backstory: Angel's Tip  is the second mystery in Alafair Burke's Ellie Hatcher series, after Dead Connection  ( my review ). The basics: When Ellie Hatcher discovers the murdered body of Chelsea Hart, an Indiana college student who was visiting New York City with her friends, during her morning run, she takes the case as her own. My thoughts: After liking but not loving Dead Connection , I was curious what Angel's Tip  would bring. I was pleasantly surprised to find a fantastic mystery as well as an impressive amount of character development for Ellie Hatcher. As the novel opens, some time has passed since the end of Dead Connection . Immediately, this time allows for Ellie to step out of some of the lingering shadows from the last novel and embrace her new promotion to a homicide detective. The reader jumps right into her new normal, and readers who didn't read Dead Connection  could still enjoy this mystery. What often seems to be a contrived plot:...

The backstory:  After loving  Long Gone  ( my review ), a stand-alone thriller, and devouring Alafair Burke's entire Samantha Kincaid series (my reviews of Judgment Calls ,  Missing Justice   and Close Case ), I was eager to read  Dead Connection,  the first in her Ellie Hatcher series. The basics: Ellie Hatcher grew up in Wichita, where her father was a cop and her mother still lives. Ellie and her troubled brother both live in New York City, where Ellie is now a cop. She normally works burglary  but she's called up to assist in a homicide investigation of a potential serial killer using an internet dating website to target his victims. My thoughts: From the beginning, Burke paints Ellie as a character to root for: "Ellie knew that a good, efficient detective—one who could prioritize her limited time in sensible ways—would act as a transcriber, file the report, and move on to the real work." This characterization is intrig...