Bringing together intrepid journalist Britt Montero and the Cold Case Squad -the lead characters from Edna Buchanan's two successful mystery series -Love Kills is a satisfying, two-for-one deal of a thriller.
A found camera nets happy photos of a newlywed couple lost at sea. When the young groom is rescued alone, Britt starts writing up the sad story only to uncover a disturbing string of honeymooner "accidents." Meantime, the Cold Case Squad investigates a startling new discovery in the case of a long-missing kidnapper, last seen by. . . Britt Montero.
A found camera nets happy photos of a newlywed couple lost at sea. When the young groom is rescued alone, Britt starts writing up the sad story only to uncover a disturbing string of honeymooner "accidents." Meantime, the Cold Case Squad investigates a startling new discovery in the case of a long-missing kidnapper, last seen by. . . Britt Montero.
While the book is ultimately focused on Britt, Buchanan alternates the two storylines and integrates them at key moments. The cases themselves don't intersect; the characters do. Not only are they all involved with the Miami police scene, but the personal side also factors in: K. C. Riley, supervisor of the Cold Case Squad, is a former rival for the affections of Britt's late fiancé. And before the cases are closed, the two women find themselves depending on each other to get out of a dangerous confrontation with a killer.
Love Kills is an excellent choice for readers who like to follow investigative work and prefer intrigue rather than gruesome scenes. Buchanan works in several good twists; she gives you the clues, too, but they are careful and subtle. The main and secondary characters are well developed, and even the minor characters are given enough personality that there are no vapid stereotypes here. The story is fast paced, the dialogue snappy. Buchanan's experience as a veteran police-beat reporter adds to the authenticity of the story, whether we're checking sources with Britt or questioning suspects with the Cold Case detectives.
Buchanan has deftly combined a solid police procedural with the story of a woman at a crossroads. Britt is coping with the loss of her fiancé, homicide cop Kendall McDonald, who met his untimely end in the last Britt book, The Ice Maiden. Although returning to the police beat gives Britt a renewed sense of purpose, she is uncertain where her career, and her life outside of it, will take her. Britt's emotions underlie the action throughout the book, in her internal monologues, in interactions with a good friend she feels has turned against her, in scenes with her mother, who typically operates on a different wave length. It gives this book a depth that many hard-nosed crime novels lack.
