Anatomy of Fear

February 19, 2007
A clever graphic element enlivens this solid serial-killer novel from Santolofer, a visual artist and author of three previous art-themed thrillers (The Killing Art
, etc.). Nate Rodriguez, a talented NYPD police sketch artist, appears to have psychic abilities when it comes to visualizing perpetrators. When Nate sketches portraits, the drawings are reproduced in the text. Nate joins detective Terri Russo on a case in which the killer, a white supremacist who takes his deadly orders directly from God, leaves his own drawings at the crime scenes (also reproduced). Nate turns to his Puerto Rican grandmother, a santera
("a sort of neighborhood priestess"), for help. Together, they come up with drawings that point to a suspect closer to home than any of them have imagined. Plot devices include a trail of red herring clues that threaten to implicate Nate, overbearing FBI agents and a female-in-peril chase scene at the end, while the romantic relationship that develops between Nate and Terri leaves room for more to come.

Starred review from April 1, 2007
Santlofer's fourth novel (following the Kate McKinnon series, which will continue) features new protagonist Nate Rodriguez, an NYPD police sketch artist. Rodriguez has the uncanny ability to create exact likenesses of criminals, which leads to his being consulted on a case involving a killer who targets biracial couples and then leaves a sketch of the murder behind at each crime scene. Rodriguez, himself part Jewish and part Puerto Rican, soon finds himself under the scrutiny of both the killer and the FBI. What's more, even as he tries to outrun the killer he must cope with guilt over his father's death. Comfort comes from his grandmother, a devoted Catholic as well as a follower of the Santerí a religion, whose spiritual assistance is key to the story. Rodriguez is good-humored and likable, and it's refreshing to read a police procedural from a sketch artist's perspective; the details about Rodriguez's work with the victims in creating his sketches make up some of the best passages in the book. Santlofer, also an artist, presents some 100 original sketches throughout the text that serve as an important part of the narrative for both Rodriguez and the killer. A fine series start; recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Mystery, "LJ" 12/06.]Julie Elliott, Indiana Univ. Lib., South Bend

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