"Taught Suspenseful Mystery"

Sandford's latest finds his hero Lucas Davenport working for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension with his long-time boss Rose Marie Roux working as the head of the state's Department of Public Safety. In his capacity as political troubleshooter for the governor, Davenport and partner Del head to the northwest corner of Minnesota where a black man and his white girlfriend were discovered hung from a tree.

The small town of Broderick, Minnesota, has secrets of its own, with many of the residents very close-mouthed about the operations of the very successful local auto body garage and the charitable "nuns" who make frequent trips across the Canadian border. Tough twelve-year-old Letty West, who carries a twenty-two and sets muskrat traps, is the only person who witnessed a vehicle near the hanging site and leads Lucas and Del around town.

Taut and twisted plot lines intensify, as the "lynching" murder seems to be solved, but the body count continues to rise. The dark, wintry Minnesota night forms the perfect backdrop for the continuing crime spree, as Lucas and Del make the breathtaking connection between several criminal enterprises. Eerily suspenseful, Mr. Sandford's latest is the most recent in a long-line of tightly woven and brilliantly composed cop mysteries.

Reviewed by Sheri Melnick
Posted May 26, 2003