Blood Tells: A Thriller

From Kirkus Reviews Tough cop tracks a Rambolike psychokiller to his Outer Banks lair in a gory, predictable, but rapidreading fishoutofwater thriller. Its not enough that a family of tourists are bludgeoned to death in a tiny motel room in the breezy, laidback Outer Banks of North Carolina. Why did the killer hack off his victims fingers and toes? Exceedingly competent, gungho Dare Country Police Lieutenant Devon Walker grows annoyed when his investigation is frustrated by squeamish, backbiting Banker politicos who fear that the grim publicity will upset the tourists. In dialogue so wooden that even Arnold Schwarzenegger couldnt play it for laughs, Devon, not a native, moans that the mayor doesnt trust me because Im from New Jersey. Meanwhile, a burly, bearded fellow whose black pickup has a North Carolina license plate is kidnapping gay men from as far away as Manhattan. Could this be the same villain who murdered a recently married Pittsburgh couple vacationing in the Outer Banks? Saunders, whose previous series of comic historicals followed the Flashmanlike adventures of Fenwick Travers (Fenwick Travers and the Panama Canal, 1995, etc.), keeps this minutely plotted catalogue of cop novel clichs fresh with fun facts about DNA blood testing, telephone calling cards, and police department budgets. He also unveils a few local oddballs, such as the crossdressing kleptomaniac who also happens to be psychic, and the insidious Dr. Severus Triskelion, a surgeon (also from New Jersey) who likes hurting his patients more than healing them. As a hurricane rages overhead, Devon finds himself in an explosive firefight with a demented, heavily armed Special Forces vet who just may be a descendant of the notorious pirate Blackbeard. Lame dialogue, discursive plotting, and a preposterous shoot emup climax aside, Saunderss series opener satisfies more than not, offering pageturning suspense and the authors meticulous respect for detail. Copyright 1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Product Description Police lieutenant Devon Walker, a recent transplant from New Jersey investigates the brutal murder of a vacationing family in the beautiful seaside community of the Outer Banks, North Carolina. From Publishers Weekly It would be too bad if potential readers of this solidly plotted procedural are put off by the obvious echoes of Jaws?specifically, a North Carolina mayor who thinks that a series of brutal deaths is bad for tourism in his beautiful seaside community on the Outer Banks. Saunders (author of the turnofthecentury Fenwick Travers adventures) knows how to tell an engrossing tale all his own, here pitting police lieutenant Devon Walker, a tough, smart newcomer to the Outer Banks from Jersey City, N.J., against the mayor and other panicky local powerbrokers who want instant arrests. Walker resists the pressure and connects the brutal murder of the vacationing Walcott family with that of another family killed near Pittsburgh. From this tenuous connection, the cool lieutenant pieces together a case that ends up establishing a link between a wild, feral child, a sadistic doctor (with the pennydreadful name of Severus Triskelion) and the notorious longago pirate Blackbeard. Saunders constructs his story patiently and economically. When a hurricane approaches or when Walker reminisces about his days as a Vietnam tunnel rat, you can bet that both elements will show up later. While theres not much detail to the main characters, there are enough secrets surrounding the killings to keep them busy and the reader engrossed. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.