Fatal Laws [Paperback]

Jim Michael Hansen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2007

When several women are found buried in shallow graves near one another, each murdered in a brutally different way, Denver homicide detective Bryson Coventry finds himself pulled into the edgy world of Tianca Holland--a woman involved enough to be a prime suspect, vulnerable enough to be the next victim, and beautiful enough to more than just a distraction.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Denver homicide detective Bryson Coventry senses something different about his current case, involving the murders of four young women. Part of the difference is that one of the suspects, a mysterious woman named Tianca, is getting under Coventry's skin in the most inappropriate of ways. Another difference is the mixed message being sent by the victims. Are they victims of a serial killer, as it first appears? If so, why were they all killed in different ways? Baffled, Coventry and steadfast colleague Shalifa Netherwood grind their way through the evidence. Meanwhile, a young law associate who had once worked with one of the victims inadvertently involves herself with the investigation, possibly to her own peril. At times, Hansen ladles on the sex and violence with a bit of heavy hand, but he builds suspense effectively, and his hero is both likable and multidimensional. A too-little-known hard-boiled series that deserves attention. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Jim Michael Hansen builds suspense effectively and his hero is both likeable and multi-dimensional. A too-little-know hardboiled series that deserves attention. --Booklist

Another well-written combination police procedural and attorney book that keeps ratcheting up the ante. Definitely recommended. --Bookbitch Reviews

Jim Michael Hansen proves that he is in a whole other class! Fatal Laws is amazing. --Roundtable Reviews

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 405 pages
• Publisher: Dark Sky Publishing (June 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976924366
• ISBN-13: 978-0976924364
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,776,228 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They Just Get Better With Age!, May 7, 2007

By 

K. Martin "Reviewer" (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fatal Laws (Paperback)

Bryson Conventry is a gritty, good-looking homicide detective in Denver. Suddenly he has found himself in what appears to be a search for a serial killer. The bodies of four women have been found - all in the same place. Each has been killed a bit differently, but they all seemed to have disappeared at the same time of year.

One of Coventry's suspects is the intoxicatingly beautiful Trianca Holland. She is a woman who likes to live on the edge, without any boundaries. Now Coventry is in her sights and she wants to do more than just answer his questions.

Haley Wesson is a fresh out of college law student who is now working at one of Denver's most prestigious firms. She finds out that one of the top lawyers she previously interned with at the firm is one of Conventry's victims. Feeling that the lawyer's murder was more than a coincidence, Haley goes on a fishing expedition that could end up making her another victim.

This is the third book in the "Laws" series surrounding the cases of Bryson Coventry. While at times a "series" of anything - whether a movie or book - can sometimes get stale as it continues from one segment to the next, this is definitely NOT the case with this trio of books!

Jim Michael Hansen has amazingly kept each book fresh and invigorating. Like the other two, I was taken on a roller coaster ride to solve Coventry's case, but this one grabbed me faster than the other two did. The familiar characters that I was re-introduced too, were just as intriguing, funny and smart as they were the first time I met them.

This book gets the reader to run from page to page the way the detective runs from clue to clue. But be prepared...the last twist at the end even had me shaking my head!

Kathy Martin, Reviewer
In The Library Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner, May 7, 2007

By 

J. Quick (@ bookbitch.com) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fatal Laws (Paperback)

FATAL LAWS by Jim Hansen: Third in the Laws series (NIGHT LAWS and SHADOW LAWS), and hopefully there will be a lot more to come. Beautiful women surround Denver homicide detective Bryson Coventry. Unfortunately, some of them are dead. Why are women disappearing and where are they between the time they disappear and when their bodies are found? Since one of the victims is an attorney, lawyers are involved as well. Another well written combination police procedural and "attorney book" that keeps ratcheting up the ante. Definitely recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A chilling thrilling police procedural, May 17, 2007

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fatal Laws (Paperback)

Denver homicide detective Bryson Coventry is working what appears to be a serial killer case as corpses appear in shallow graves. However, the problem with this theory is that each person died differently; serial killer typically uses the same MO.

His investigation leads Bryson to the avaricious Degan. This affluent man apparently chooses the victim, whom the predator kills. The case also brings him to Tianca Holland, a woman of interest to him not just because of her ties to the dead. Still none of what he finds makes sense to Bryson as it goes against what is known about serial killers and his desire for Tianca. Yet to have multiple murderers burying their victims in easy to find shallow graves makes less sense than Tianca being a killer, associate, or next victim and where Degan fits is even more complicated as nothing adds up except that Bryson believes somehow this man is being compensated.

The latest Brysan "law" tale is an exciting police procedural in which the sum of the murders add up to be greater than the individual killings. Brysan is at his best trying to determine whether a serial killer or multiple killers are the murderers while also struggling with Tianca whose seductiveness has his blood flow entirely to his lower head. Fans of the the series will enjoy his latest thriller while newcomers will seek previous Coventry investigations (See NIGHT LAWS and SHADOW LAWS).

Harriet Klausner