9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
nine rates the Maximum number of stars, October 25, 2002
Good character development - there's Alex, a homicide detective, with complicated family relationships. He investigates a murder where a large numeral 9 is left painted on the wall. Gripping plot -- the 9 goes on to be a 7 and 8 -- there's a serial killing in progress. What could NINE mean? Jan Burke develops great scenes showing how and why all the little individual pieces tie together into a Project Nine. A surprising twist adds to the flavor of the book.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jan Burke never ceases to amaze, April 1, 2004
This review is from: Nine (Mass Market Paperback)
I am a big fan of the Irene Kelly series and at first was a little reticent of reading a novel by Jan Burke that did not have Irene as the main character. Luckily I discovered that my fears were completely unfounded and that the quality of this novel is as good as the rest of Burke's work, if not better.
Four young men are the main participants in a group called Project Nine, whose mission is to take justice into their own hands by killing the criminals that are listed in the FBI's Most Wanted list. The members of the group are all former Sedgewick students, which is a school well known for harboring rich kids who have had problems in various areas (school, trouble with police, etc). The murderers use a very distinct method, and detective Alex Brandon finds clear similarities with a previous case in his career. The killer in that prior case ended up being murdered by his stepson, Kit, who was only eleven years at that time.
The author not only presents a highly interesting and complex plot in terms of the reasons behind the actions of the characters, but also does an amazing job in depicting Alex and Kit, and also in intertwining elements of their personal life into the story. Each time I grab a book written by Jan Burke I find myself surprised not only by the highly entertaining stories she creates, but also by the outstanding quality of her writing. This is probably why she has won numerous prizes, including the prestigious Edgar Award. This work has convinced me: besides waiting for the next Irene Kelly novel, I will grab anything this author writes!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Burke's fan base will grow thanks to this gripping thriller, December 8, 2002
It happens. You start a book with high expectations for whatever reason --- the inside cover summary, a friend's recommendation or, heaven forbid, some nebbish reviewer --- and you're disappointed. The converse also happens, however. You're not expecting much when you crack the binding on the book and the next thing you know you're halfway through the story before you even think about putting it down --- kind of like being abducted by aliens, without the probes, if you will.
That's the sort of out-of-body experience I encountered when I picked up NINE by Jan Burke. I wasn't really familiar with Burke's previous work, more by accident than by design, so I approached NINE with a tabula rosa impression, an impression that is now indelibly etched into my memory. NINE is as complex and gripping a thriller as you may well read this year.
The premise of NINE revolves around an unknown perpetrator or perpetrators who are dramatically and theatrically murdering the individuals listed on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List. The first, a drug kingpin who executed a potential witness against him, along with the witness's family, is strung up and left to die with his lifeblood draining from him. The mourners who attended this gentleman's demise could be counted on the end of one stump. The unknown individual who hastened his journey to the other side of the veil is quickly heralded as a hero. As the remaining individuals on the FBI's list are dispatched with efficient and creative rapidity, the public is enthralled. Detective Alex Brandon of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is not among the cheerleaders, however. The executions bear an eerie resemblance to the murders carried out by a serial killer, now deceased, some ten years previous; they appear to be done for the purpose of carrying out a taunting message to Brandon. As his investigation continues, Brandon becomes more and more certain that The Executioners, as the media has dubbed them, are actually targeting him. Burke almost loses her way at the end --- the ending almost seems a bit contrived --- but she ultimately manages to pull things off, coming back in a satisfying epilogue to tidy things up quite neatly and satisfactorily.
NINE will introduce Burke fans to a whole new cast of characters. While the main focus of the book is Detective Brandon, the supporting characters are so interesting that they ultimately come close to high-jacking the book away from him. While NINE functions quite nicely as a stand-alone, independent work, it would seem a shame for Burke not to utilize Brandon and his supporting cast of characters in future novels. Whatever Burke might choose to do, however, NINE will undoubtedly bring a legion of new readers to her work.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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