After reading Secrets
to Die For, I wondered if L. J. Sellers camped out for days in the Eugene
Police Headquarters in Oregon, taking note of every step, procedure and conversation
taken by their homicide detectives. The
second Detective Jackson mystery is so full of buzzwords, lingo and acronyms, I
started looking for a Policeman/English dictionary. I always thought a bolo was something men in
the southwestern US sometimes wore in place of
a tie. Apparently, it has a
totally different meaning to law enforcement.
However, those added details are what sets Secrets apart. Even if Sellers didn't hang out in the police
department, I certainly felt like I was standing in the hallways, listening and
watching as the story unfolded around me.
The novel opens with a social worker Raina Hughes visiting a
young boy she's been assigned to. The
meeting is disastrous. As she flees the
family's home, she is raped and murdered.
At first it appears that the father of the boy but as
Jackson and his team dig deeper, they find there may be a connection to a
serial rapist preying on lesbians.
Jackson worries about the escalation in the perp's
violence. He's receiving pressure from the
sergeant to solve the case quickly, despite the lack of concrete evidence
pointing to any one suspect. Then Rain's
close friend disappears and Jackson fears it is only a matter of time before
another victim is found.
Through all this, Jackson is experiencing upheaval in his
personal life as well. The case causes
him to spend hours on the job, taking time away from Katie, his teenage
daughter and Kera, the woman is he currently dating. Unfortunately, Kera's estranged husband who
dumped her via a 'Dear John' letter is back in town, sniffing around and making
overtures that he wants a reconciliation.
In the end, it's the back-breaking, leg-work attention to
detail and protocol that leads Jackson's team to find the serial rapist and the
murderer of Raina Hughes. The climax is
page-turning excitement as Jackson puts the pieces together in a
down-to-the-last-second conclusion.
Sellers snares the readers' attention with surprising twists
throughout the story and keeps them glued to every page.
2 comments:
Thanks for such a terrific review! I have spent hours and hours talking with homicide detectives and crime scene technicians, who are very generous with their time and knowledge. And I just finished the Eugene Citizen's Police Academy to further expand my background knowledge.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the story.
The pleasure is mine, L.J! I'm looking forward to the next one! :)
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