DEAD CONNECTION
Alafair Burke
Henry Holt and Company
Thriller
ISBN-10: 0805077855
ISBN-13: 9780805077858

Over the last few years, Alafair Burke has delivered a fine series of mystery novels featuring District Attorney Samantha Kincaid. These books catapulted Burke (the daughter of bestselling author James Lee Burke) into the big time. Her newest procedural features NYPD detective Ellie Hatcher, an attractive, bright and street-smart rookie.

Hatcher lives with a haunted past. Her father, who was a cop in Wichita, Kansas, where she grew up, died mysteriously in pursuit of a serial killer dubbed the College Hill Strangler. After an internal investigation by his department, his death was ruled a suicide. But even as a kid Ellie never believed her father would take his own life. She felt a cover-up was easy to pull off because her mother would not question any findings or complain about losing the compensation to which she was entitled. Burke says of her new leading lady: "Her father always told her, Find the motive, and the motive will lead you to the man." These words are the foundation of Hatcher's tenaciousness and unflagging commitment to bring justice to victims.

In DEAD CONNECTION, Burke's story unfolds around the latest cyber-phenomenon: online dating services. In this Sargasso Sea of strangers who put themselves "out there," victims could be exposing themselves for trouble rather than love. Yet, ironically, Burke herself met her husband through "an online dating service [and goes on to say]…there I found the plot of [this novel] and…Ellie Hatcher."

Hatcher is surprised and flattered when bombastic detective Flann McIlroy asks her to be assigned temporarily to his department. So far the investigation has revealed that the only common thread in the lives of the dead women is the dating service to which they all subscribed. And he proposes to use the rookie as bait to catch a killer. She is not quite sure how she feels about this since she thought she was chosen for her brains. But her desire to work with the "legendary" McIlroy overrides any misgivings on her part. She doesn't dare question the plum assignment.

As they embark on their quest, one very explosive fact emerges: both Hatcher and McIlroy are hardheaded, stubborn people who want to do things their own way. But as the very junior side of this unlikely team is constantly reminded, she must take her lead from her older colleague. Ultimately, their relationship works and brings both pathos and humor to a chilling story.

As the two delve deeper and deeper into the dating service, they come to find the owner a scoundrel who may have dealings with the Russian mafia. If he does, how does that impact their serial killer investigation? Have they stumbled into a new crime and a new investigation? In spite of this possible complication, Ellie and Flann diligently continue searching for a mass murderer. And can he be part of some Russian tactic by using the Internet? As Ellie continues to think all of this through, she remembers how the College Hill Strangler played head games with her father. She slowly comes to the conclusion that her job is to find a mass murderer who's playing games with her. Can this insight help her in her quest to find this madman?

Alafair Burke's previous novels were tightly written and well plotted, and the characters all worked in sync. Unfortunately, in DEAD CONNECTION she doesn't pull the various subplots together into a cohesive whole. Here, the main plot seems to get out of control, and she leaves too many unanswered questions. And Hatcher, while charming and savvy to a certain degree, is too young and naïve to be a New York City detective. Burke built a solid fan base with her Samantha Kincaid series; her audience can only hope that she will return to familiar territory starring a more interesting heroine, or imbue Ellie Hatcher with more gravitas. Nevertheless, DEAD CONNECTION is the perfect summer read.

    --- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum

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