Jonathan Kellerman_Petra Connor 02

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Hollywood homicide detective Petra Connor has helped psychologist Alex Delaware crack tough cases in the past. And in Jonathan Kellerman’s New York Times bestseller Billy Straight she took the lead in the desperate hunt for a teenage runaway stalked by a vengeful murderer. Now the complex and wryly compassionate Petra is once again at the center of the action, in a novel of cunning twists and page-turning suspense.Lifeless bodies sprawl in a dance-club parking lot after a brutal L.A. drive-by. Of the four seemingly random victims, one stands out: a girl with pink shoes who cannot be identified–and who, days later, remains a Jane Doe. With zero leads and no apparent motive, it’s another case destined for the cold file–until Petra decides to follow her instincts and descends into a world of traveling grifters and bloodthirsty killers, pursuing a possible eyewitness whose life is in mortal danger.Finding her elusive quarry–alive–isn’t all Petra has on her plate: departmental politics threatens to sabotage her case, and her personal life isn’t doing much better. If all that wasn’t enough, Isaac Gomez, a whiz-kid grad student researching homicide statistics at the station house, is convinced he’s stumbled upon a bizarre connection between several unsolved murders. The victims had nothing in common, yet each died by the same method, on the same date–a date that’s rapidly approaching again. And that leaves Petra with little time to unravel the twisted logic of a cunning predator who’s evaded detection for years–and whose terrible hour is once more at hand.“Why is it so hard to put down a Kellerman thriller?” asks Publishers Weekly. “It’s simple: the nonstop action leaves you breathless; the plot twists keep you guessing; the themes . . . are provocative.” Those in need of still further proof that “Kellerman has shaped the psychological mystery novel into an art form” (Los Angeles Times Book Review) need look no further than Twisted.From Publishers WeeklyHollywood homicide detective Petra Connor takes center stage in bestseller Kellerman's elaborate, suspenseful, albeit improbable, thriller. Connor, who assisted Kellerman's main series detective, psychologist Alex Delaware, in 2003's A Cold Heart, proves an engaging protagonist, fully capable of carrying a story on her own. She's investigating a seemingly random drive-by shooting that claimed four teenage victims when a precocious 22-year-old graduate student intern, Isaac Gomez, presents her with evidence that a serial killer has struck on the same day, June 28, every year for the past six years. Though his proof relies entirely on a statistical analysis he's performed, his unquestioned brilliance prompts Connor to do a little extracurricular digging that turns up suggestive clues supporting Gomez's theory. Meanwhile, after doggedly pursuing even the slightest lead in the drive-by shooting case, Connor suspects that one of the victims, perhaps the one who wasn't claimed by any next-of-kin, was deliberately targeted. While Connor finds the socially immature Gomez to be a challenging assistant, he displays considerable cool in the climactic showdown with the June 28 killer. Despite a last minute plot twist that comes out of left field, this is vintage Kellerman, sure to please his legions of fans. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistFollowing her debut as Milo Sturgi's fellow officer in the Delaware/Sturgis mystery A Cold Heart (2003), L.A. Detective Petra Connor emerges on her own. Unfortunately, if Kellerman is testing the waters for a new series character, Petra, though tough enough and with the usual screwed-up love life, is nothing special. The best thing here is 22-year-old Isaac Gomez, a nerdy whiz kid who is investigating patterns in unsolved L.A. homicides for his doctoral dissertation. Although Petra is supposed to be working on the death of an unidentified teen in a drive-by shooting, when Isaac confronts her with several cold cases that have compelling links, she can't help but feel they deserve some attention, too. While Petra does most of the footwork, Isaac pulls up the background on his laptop and makes a few trips to the library, where an unusually randy librarian helps him out in both the physical and intellectual senses. The idea of a prodigy torn between his hardworking family and the excitement of police work is what supplies the energy here. Perhaps Kellerman should consider a series based on Isaac rather than Petra. Stephanie ZvirinCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved