Fade to Black

January 1, 2018
Returning to work after a gunshot wound to his head erased 10 years of memories (Blackout, 2016), Lt. Doug Brock, of the New Jersey State Police, is invited into a case by a fellow amnesiac.Financial consultant Sean Connor, a member of Doug's amnesia recovery group, is deeply disturbed to find stashed in his attic a trove of newspaper clippings about the disappearance of hospital executive Rita Carlisle three years ago. Is it possible, he asks Doug after swearing him to strict confidence, that he kidnapped or killed her himself and doesn't remember it? The question ranks among Rosenfelt's (Collared, 2017, etc.) best hooks, and it's no wonder Doug is soon asking his boss, Capt. Jeremy Bradley, if he can reopen this cold case--even though it's not really a cold case at all. Rita's boyfriend, realtor John Nicholson, was tried and convicted after being arrested, Doug's partner, Lt. Nate Alvarez, informs him, by none other than Doug himself. Soon after Doug's prison interview with Nicholson reveals nothing but Doug's bewilderment and Nicholson's suspicion, there's a much more dramatic development: a jogger finds Sean Connor's severed head in Eastside Park. Certain that his amnesiac acquaintance's death so soon after their conversation can't possibly be a coincidence, Doug jumps into the case with both feet and Bradley's blessing, since now it's about a brand-new decapitation, not a three-year-old disappearance. The murky waters around him are stocked with interchangeable mob kingpins from New Jersey to Las Vegas, and for much of the running time, these high-ranking lowlifes seem intent on nothing more than their usual dangerous jockeying for power. But Doug eventually finds a motive beneath all the violence that's as surprising as it is compelling.The case doesn't rank among Rosenfelt's best or his second-best. But even his third-best features a brash, appealing narrator/hero and some memorably snappy dialogue.

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January 15, 2018
In Rosenfelt’s solid sequel to 2016’s Blackout, New Jersey state police officer Doug Brock encounters a man named Sean Conner at an amnesia support group. Conner persuades Brock to reinvestigate a three-year-old case that Brock himself helped solve, but about which he has no recollection, due to memory loss stemming from an on-the-job injury. The subsequent discovery of Conner’s severed head in a park raises the stakes. Brock discovers that the earlier case connects to a conspiracy of organized crime infighting and terrorism that seems tied to drug thefts at a local hospital. Wisecracking Brock is a strong lead in the vein of Rosenfelt’s Andy Carpenter, while his cynical partner, Nate Alvarez, heads up a lively cast of secondary characters that includes a dog named Bobo. Unfortunately, Brock’s girlfriend, Jessie Allen, a fellow cop who specializes in computer crimes, is relegated to a more one-dimensional supporting role. Filled with betrayals, twists, and intuitive leaps, this sometimes far-fetched tale will keep readers turning pages. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House.

October 1, 2017

Perhaps best known for his dog-friendly Andy Carpenter mysteries, the Edgar-nominated and Shamus Award-winning Rosenfelt returns with a follow-up to Blackout, which featured a New Jersey state police officer struggling with amnesia after being shot in the line of duty. Doug Brock is still attending an amnesia support group, where he meets a man desperate for his help. Sean Conner has no idea why he has the scrapbook of a murder victim in his attic, and when Doug persuades his captain to let him reopen the cold case, he discovers an unsettling personal connection that makes him reexamine everything about Sean, the case, and himself.

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