Acclaimed for his Elvis Cole mystery series (L.A. Requiem, etc.), Crais deserves further garlands for this stand-alone crime novel. The book features one of the most complex heroines to grace a thriller since Clarice Starling locked eyes with Hannibal Lecter, a deliciously spooky villain in the person of a mad bomber known as Mr. Red, and an aggressively involving plot. Carol Starkey was a rising light in the LAPD Bomb Squad until, two years back, a bomb blew up in her face, maiming her and killing her lover/partner.
Robert Louis Stevenson is the famous Scottish author of 'Kidnapped', 'Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde', and 'Treasure Island'. This collection of critical essays on his major works is enhanced by a chronology, bibliography, and notes on the contributors, as well as an introductory essay by noted literary scholar Harold Bloom.
When a woman's partially decomposed body washes ashore in Paradise, Massachusetts, police chief Jesse Stone is forced into a case far more difficult than it initially appears. Identifying the woman is just the first step in what proves to be an emotionally charged investigation. Florence Horvath was an attractive, recently divorced heiress from Florida; she also had a penchant for steamy sex and was an enthusiastic participant in a video depicting the same.
Jesse Stone has a problem. Actually, several, with bodies turning up and no clues. Investigating a serial killer in an affluent suburban town is difficult, and dangerous, and with the added pressures from the town selectmen and the media, Jesse's really feeling the heat.