Amazon.com Review
Conrad Voort returns in a new outing for the NYPD Detective, whose birthday celebration is interrupted by a killer who's chosen the date of his first murder to remind Voort of his part in what proves to be a series of bewildering slayings. None of the victims seem to have anything in common, and although the killer leaves notes to Voort at every murder scene to nudge his memory, Conrad can't figure out what the connection to him is. All he knows is that the killer plans to kill four more people before midnight--and that his colleagues on the force are beginning to suspect that the detective knows more than he's telling. Forced to examine his entire life to learn what he's done to set the killer on his bloody path, Voort reveals facets of his character and history that illuminate the choices and consequences that led to this one-sided game of revenge. Dead for Life is a strong, well-told story with a protagonist who's consistently more interesting than the plots his creator cooks up for him. --Jane Adams
From Publishers Weekly
Memory is the tie that binds NYPD detective Conrad Voort and killer Wendall Nye in this evocative, New York City-steeped thriller (the fourth in Black's well-received series) revolving around questions of personal responsibility and unforeseen consequences. After murdering a beautiful travel agent, Nye leaves the following message: "YOUR FAULT CONRAD. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY. BIRTHDAY BOY. THREE MORE BY MIDNIGHT." Voort, the golden boy of an old New York family, has everything; Nye, a former high school teacher, has nothing-his life has been a shambles ever since a mysterious incident six years ago. What is the connection between the desperate killer and the "richest cop in New York"? Nye, as he continues his agenda of death, makes it clear that the blame for his spree stems directly from some past error on Voort's part. Battling the condemnation of his superiors, the suspicions of his fellow policemen and a media out for blood, Voort races through the city on the heels of the killer as the clock ticks and the body count climbs. The well-drawn backstory of Nye's terrible pain and loss-linked to city corruption and graft-is as compelling in its own way as Voort's history of family wealth and privilege. Black (All the Dead Were Strangers; The Broken Hearts Club; Irresistible) upends the standard conventions of good cop versus bad killer and in the process paints a vivid picture of day-to-day life in New York. Only a weak ending mars what is another strong performance by a crime writer who has created an unusual and realistically fallible police protagonist, one readers will follow for years to come.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
