Cold Blooded

There's something rotten in the Big Apple, and it's up to Detective Dennis McQueen to figure out just what is going on. But after the initial investigation of a series of murders--each with a different style of killing yet each with the same method of body disposal--McQueen turns to the FDNY fire marshal to help stop the heinous crimes once and for all. Narrator Kevin Foley delivers a stern reading that sounds more procedural, more "by the book," than the readings of most modern detective thrillers. Surprisingly, the result is a strong performance that reminds listeners of the hard-boiled crime novels of Raymond Chandler. Foley delivers every word with the same weighty tone, which instills in listeners feelings of urgency and, perhaps most importantly, authenticity. L.B. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

September 26, 2005
Last seen in Randisi's The Sixth Phase
(1999), NYPD Det. Sgt. Dennis McQueen, a cynical veteran whose passion for detective work exceeds his mastery of departmental politics, gets a new partner who's as much a standard type as himself—Det. Bailey Summers, who labors to survive and advance in a sexist profession while continually fending off those who just want to sleep with her. When a frozen body is discovered off Coney Island by the local polar bears club, the duo connect the murder with insurance fraud and arson in the person of the dead man's sister, a femme fatale with designs on McQueen. After other frozen corpses turn up, it becomes clear a serial killer is on the loose. The serial murderer's thin motivation and the detective pair's identifying him early on undercut both the credibility and the suspense, but those looking for a quick, comfortable read will doubtless find this diverting. Agent, Dominick Abel.