Book Review: J.A. Konrath's Murder Mystery, Bloody Mary

I first became acquainted with young writer J.A. (Joe) Konrath via his brace of articles in Writer's Digest magazine about being a young novelist and the process one goes through to get published for the first time. His writing style was very funny and appealing, and I determined to read his work, the first of which was coming out under the name Whiskey Sour, a play on the name of his lead character, a Chicago Police Department lieutenant and violent crimes investigator Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels. He'd signed a contract to produce a second book, as well, which was unnamed at the time.

That book turned out to be Bloody Mary (Hyperion, 2005), and Bloody Mary turned out to be the first book I ended up reading. And what a read it is-fast-paced, layered, touching, and very funny at times. Since Jack (who is, remember, a female) is a homicide cop, the story is a murder mystery, and a serial-murder mystery, at that. Jack is even in personal danger, which ups the stakes considerably.

At the same time, she is dealing with major issues n her personal life, brought to bear by the reappearance of her ex-husband, Alan Daniels, in the middle of a very good relationship with her boyfriend, Latham Conger. This is at the request of Jack's mom, who has run into trouble in her retirement community in Florida and has to stay with Jack in Chicago. On top of all this, there is even an incredibly antisocial cat, Mr. Friskers, that Jack has no choice but to adopt after his owner is slain by the serial killer.

The case, albeit gruesome, presents some funny challenges, as well. Jack's partner, Herb Benedict, is a good cop but provides much comic relief with his dieting and relationship issues, and her nemesis, PI Harry McGlade (who used to be her partner), manages to make any situation he touches miserable for Jack, and yet he helps, in his annoying way. One of the most interesting facets of this book is that not only is it not that difficult to figure out who the killer is, they catch the killer only about halfway through the book, and yet despite all this, it's still a completely riveting read.

Another very appealing thing about the character of Jack Daniels is that she is not the typical TV "sexy cop"-she is attractive, but she is in her 40s, with realistic personal and professional concerns. Konrath has done an impressive job capturing her point of view and resulting internal dialogue, considering the age and gender differences between him and his character.

After this most satisfying and entertaining experience reading Bloody Mary, I am looking forward to checking out Whiskey Sour as well, and more books in this series by J. A. Konrath. All the drinks out there with interesting names have kept the author busy for quite some time!

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