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Brian Freeman seemed to come out of nowhere in 2005. IMMORAL, his debut novel, was a critical and commercial success, building on a canny marketing campaign and reader word-of-mouth. The center of IMMORAL was Jonathan Stride, a flawed but sympathetic Minnesota police detective who, at the conclusion of that work, had found a tentative but promising happiness with Las Vegas Police Detective Serena Dial. Freeman's latest release finds him taking chances with his characters, stretching the limits of their professional and personal relationships.
STRIPPED begins where IMMORAL left off, with Stride having relocated to Las Vegas to be with Dial. The change of locale is not without its difficulties, as Stride experiences some fish-out-of-water dislocation. Paired with a partner who also doesn't quite belong (for much different reasons), Stride catches a murder case involving the seemingly random killing of a celebrity on the Vegas Strip. The murder is anything but random, however, and soon begins to reveal ties to the decades-old killing of a Las Vegas showgirl. When one of Dial's cases --- an apparent hit-and-run death of a child --- appears to have a tenuous relationship to Stride's, the trail leads the pair into an intricate labyrinth of political secrets with the potential to rock the top movers and shakers in Las Vegas and beyond.
When more murders occur, it becomes clear that an angry killer is motivated by revenge and will stop at nothing until all sins of the past are paid for. At the same time, the case tests Dial's relationship with Stride in a way that Stride had not anticipated. Matters are further complicated by Stride's growing alienation from the city of Las Vegas itself. While he doesn't doubt his love for Dial, he is rapidly coming to the conclusion that he and Vegas are on a collision course.
Freeman's ability to drop bombshells --- amply demonstrated in IMMORAL --- remains fully intact here, with each page becoming more and more explosive right up to the very end. STRIPPED will only enhance Freeman's reputation as a thriller craftsman; his talent runs strong and, to all appearances, deep. Make room on your bookcase for more.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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