Strangled

From Publishers WeeklyNewspaper reporter Jack Flynn, last seen in McGrory's Dead Line (2004), investigates a series of contemporary murders that parallel the terrifying Boston Strangler slayings of the 1960s in the author's less than convincing fourth thriller. Somewhat improbably, Flynn must begin by probing the older case and the debate over whether the confessed strangler, Albert DeSalvo, was actually guilty. In the novel's reality, the senior Bay State senator isn't Ted Kennedy but a prosecutor who made his reputation on the DeSalvo case and who's among many in law enforcement discouraging Flynn from re-examining the official line that DeSalvo was the murderer. The sympathetic Flynn, with his train wreck of a private life, compensates for the author not probing more deeply serious questions about the real-life strangler case. Those seeking a rich, compelling look at the possible return of a serial killer would do better to turn to Peter Straub's Blue Rose and its sequels.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. FromStarred Review Has the Boston Strangler returned, reprising his murder spree of 40 years ago? That question plagues reporter Jack Flynn as he investigates the gruesome murder of a young woman that becomes just one in a series, with the killer mailing clues to Jack in the newsroom and at home. What if the man who was convicted of rape, suspected of being the strangler, and murdered in prison wasn't actually the strangler? The very possibility that the strangler may be on the loose threatens the future of the police commissioner, now on the verge of running for mayor, a man who made his career during the 1960s investigation of the murder cases. Working with colleague Vinny Mongillo and retired police detective Hank Sweeney, Flynn tracks down clues from Boston to Las Vegas, dodging attempts on his own life along the way. For Jack, the story provokes a crisis of trust in the police, the management of his beloved Boston Record, and a close friend. McGrory offers delicious descriptions of Boston's food, sights, and characters in this taut page-turner with enough suspense to make readers anxiously await the next installment. Vanessa BushCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved