Come Clean [Paperback]

John F Parker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 2005

A diabolical murder is committed by a serial killer who believes Hannibal Lecter would envy his techniques. PI Kevin J. Porter (an ex-Royal Canadian Mounted Police Chief Inspector) takes you on a breathless trail in and around Hollywood North in Vancouver, Canada, as he tries to bag the psycho murderer. The reader is usually a jump ahead of Kevin Porter-privy to his foibles and flaws-and Porter has a lot of secrets. He was a cop, but for mysterious reasons, now he's not. He was also married, but not anymore. Instead, he's left his family for an inter-generational relationship. His lover, Brent Barnes, serves up some of the only relief from the heart-thumping suspense that builds right up to the final moments of Come Clean. Will Porter catch the killer before he kills again?

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Quest (October 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932300430
• ISBN-13: 978-1932300437
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,547,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Previously released under pen name of Kevin J Porter, November 18, 2005

By 

Bob Lind "camelwest" (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Come Clean (Paperback)

When I first read and reviewed this book three years ago, when it was released by the author under a pen name, I said that it was one of the most original, suspenseful and outright *terrifying* mystery novels I have ever read ... and that distinction still remains. The author is skilled at feeding the reader carefully-timed tidbits of information, before they become evident to those trying to solve the case, making the reader feel smart and leading to "obvious" conclusions. Unfortunately, what seems obvious in the last chapter is proved to be impossible in the next, and one is left frustrated and doubting how this will all be tied together somehow, but it is, masterfully.

In a nutshell, Kevin Porter is a retired Canadian "mountie" who stumbles onto the scene of a grisly murder, after his boyfriend Brent (about half of Kevin's age; Kevin is Brent's "senior toy") asks him to check on a university colleague who did not return from her weekend retreat for her Monday morning classes. The unique "clean fettish" of the killer also serves to erase all of the usual sources of evidence, frustrating the RCMP investigator (a former subordinate of Porter's) who is assigned to the case. The chapters alternate between the Porter's and the killer's perspectives, and we learn early on (Note: NOT a spoiler, as this is within the first two chapters) that the killer works as a make-up artist on the Vancouver-based filming of the "X-Files" TV show. A series of complicated incidents result in Porter's being "outed" to his former RCMP colleagues, and his lover Brent becoming a suspect in the murder, two developments that are handled quite realistically. The investigation goes on while Vancouver police are also investigating the latest in a series of gay-bashing murders in a public park, and readers learn there is a connection before the investigators do.

The tale is not for the squeemish, and a comparison of the murderer to Hannibal Lector isn't far fetched. My highest possible recommendations for this overlooked masterpiece, which I am very glad to see is back in publication.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but gruesome, June 4, 2008

By 

Randolf J. Rice - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Come Clean (Paperback)

"Come Clean" is well written and insightful in its description of the cross-generational and cross-cultural relationship between the detective and his domestic partner. The villain and his crimes, while believable, were too gruesome for me, and the ending too farfetched to be satisfying.