Angel's Tip

Starred review from July 21, 2008
Near the start of Burke’s gripping second procedural to feature NYPD detective Ellie Hatcher (after Dead Connection
), Ellie happens on the mutilated body of college student Chelsea Hart in East River Park while on her morning jog. Friends of the victim point the cops toward posh nightclub Pulse, located in the trendy Meatpacking district, where Ellie and partner J.J. Rogan are able to match a VIP’s credit card receipt to young and arrogant investment banker Jake Meyers, with whom Chelsea was last reported seen. But pinning the case on him doesn’t feel right when Ellie discovers similarities between Chelsea’s murder and two others from years past. Meanwhile, local media keep getting hold of unreleased facts of the case, making Ellie’s superiors suspicious of her romantic relationship with Daily Post
crime reporter Peter Morse. Knowing the cops aren’t on the right track lends a sense of dread to the plot. Burke leaves her principle characters little time to sleep; readers will relate. Author tour.

There's a serial killer on the loose in Manhattan. He specializes in leggy, young blondes, and catching him is an exercise in pattern recognition. First, NYPD investigator Ellie Hatcher has to recognize that the fresh murders match some cold cases her mentor was working on before his own death; second, that the murderer's choice of victims and the way he hacks their hair makes them resemble no one so much as herself. Eliza Foss's voice is lovely and supple, and she works each sentence with a marvelous intelligence, catching the humor in the wording of a phrase, conveying the exact mood of a speaker with the slightest shift of timbre. She makes the cat-and-mouse denouement a high-tension delight. B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

February 15, 2009
Three Indiana University co-eds find New York City's nightlife horrifically uninviting in this solid, engaging follow-up to "Dead Connection" (2007) featuring Det. Ellie Hatcher and her partner, J.J. Rogan. Initially teased in all directions, the team goes on doggedly to resolve the crimes. Actress/narrator Eliza Foss ("Goodnight, Irene") reads Burke's well-defined characters capably. Recommended. [The Harper hc was "highly recommended for all public libraries," "LJ" 7/08.Ed.]Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo

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