Clean Break (Kate Brannigan) [Paperback]

Val Mcdermid (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 18, 1996 | Series: Kate Brannigan

Manchester-based, kick-boxing PI Kate Brannigan takes on the hard men of European organised crime as she battles to recover a Monet in a case that stretches love and loyalty to the limits. Manchester-based private eye Kate Brannigan is not amused when thieves have the audacity to steal a Monet from a stately home where she's arranged security. She's even less thrilled when the hunt for the thieves drags her on a treacherous foray across Europe as she goes head to head with organized crime. And as if that isn't enough, a routine industrial case starts leaving a trail of bodies across the Northwest, giving Kate more problems than she can deal with. Cleaning up the mess in Clean Break forces Kate to confront harsh truths in her own life as she battles with a testing array of villains in a case that stretches love and loyalty to the limits.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fast-talking, kick-boxing Kate Brannigan, a PI in Manchester, England, returns (after Crack Down) in a cleanly written, fast-paced escapade. Cut from the same cloth as Kinsey Milhone, though somewhat less of a loner and possessed of a more demanding palate, Kate is just as likely to be seized by a case and just as regretful when violence comes to pass. This tale jumps out of the gate at top speed when perfectionist Kate discovers that a security system she developed for a local castle has been breached and a valuable Monet stolen. Ingeniously tracking the thieves to Italy, she winds up taking on some world-class bad guys. At the same time, she is involved in a case of suspected industrial sabotage that has turned deadly. Juggling her clients, facing physical danger and coping with the continually bruised ego of her lover, Richard, Kate must navigate her way through power plays, unsavory associations and divided loyalties. A neatly arrived at conclusion leaves Kate and readers reckoning that success may not always be worth its price.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The fourth Kate Brannigan mystery finds the British equivalent of Kinsey Millhone trying to crack a case in which a ring of smash-and-grabbers is stealing artwork from country estates. Kate is involved because her security firm was responsible for one of the burgled homes. The owners of the estates are reluctant to bring in the police because so much of their income is generated by tourist excursions through their homes and they fear the publicity. In one of the homes, the intruders' activity is recorded, and Kate recognizes one of them--it's Dennis, Kate's close pal and her connection to the criminal underworld. She has some hard choices to make but is willing to put them off if she can recover the stolen property. Dennis points her in the right direction, but soon the case takes a far more sinister turn, with people connected to the thefts turning up dead all over the countryside. When a trip to Italy reveals Mob involvement, Kate realizes the stakes are much higher than a few pieces of stolen art and that her life means nothing to those involved in the crimes. Brannigan is tough, funny, and sometimes profane. Wes Lukowsky --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins Publishers (March 18, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0006497721
• ISBN-13: 979-0006497720
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,524,781 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun read, January 29, 2002

By 

Angel L. Soto (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clean Break: A Kate Brannigan Mystery (Hardcover)

Kate Brannigan is a Manchester-based private investigator that is having a bad day. She is investigating the robbery of a Monet painting from one of her client's homes. What really gets her craw is that during the previous day she installed the client's home security system. Kate is also involved with a second case involving industrial sabotage. Kerrchem is facing a rash of lawsuits after one of its cleaning fluids killed a man. The police stated that the man died from inhaling arsenic.

Kate does her best to solve these two cases despite her trouble with her boyfriend. Apparently they are at a crossroads after a previous case and they are having trouble getting back in the swing of things.

I knew I had to read more of Val McDermid's work after reading A PLACE OF EXECUTION. One thing I enjoyed about CLEAN BREAK was that it was easy to read and I liked the characters. Kate is not a superwoman but she works very hard at what she does. She is loyal to herself and her friends. She knows when she is wrong and she knows when to ask for help. I really enjoyed reading her story and I intend to read the other books in the Kate Brannigan series in the near future.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good mystery, October 20, 2000

By 

M. Anderson (Salt Lake City, UT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Clean Break: A Kate Brannigan Mystery (Hardcover)

It's like a sorbet - light and refreshing. It's not too heavy on character development, but just enough to keep the characters interesting without an Oprah-esque heaviness. It's got a couple of different mysteries running at one time, but the writer handles that with ease. There was one section (a chase through Europe) that was a bit long, but other than that, this is a very good, very quick read. It's similar in style and tone to Patricia Cornwell's early work. And beware that it's a British book, so there are a few phrases that might be a bit difficult to understand at first.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun read, January 29, 2002

By 

Angel L. Soto (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clean Break: A Kate Brannigan Mystery (Hardcover)

Kate Brannigan is a Manchester-based private investigator that is having a bad day. She is investigating the robbery of a Monet painting from one of her client's homes. What really gets her craw is that during the previous day she installed the client's home security system. Kate is also involved with a second case involving industrial sabotage. Kerrchem is facing a rash of lawsuits after one of its cleaning fluids killed a man. The police stated that the man died from inhaling arsenic.

Kate does her best to solve these two cases despite her trouble with her boyfriend. Apparently they are at a crossroads after a previous case and they are having trouble getting back in the swing of things.

I knew I had to read more of Val McDermid's work after reading A PLACE OF EXECUTION. One thing I enjoyed about CLEAN BREAK was that it was easy to read and I liked the characters. Kate is not a superwoman but she works very hard at what she does. She is loyal to herself and her friends. She knows when she is wrong and she knows when to ask for help. I really enjoyed reading her story and I intend to read the other books in the Kate Brannigan series in the near future.