The Boy With Perfect Hands (An Elizabeth Hewitt Mystery) [Paperback]

Sheldon Rusch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 2007 | Series: An Elizabeth Hewitt Mystery (Book 2)

Now in paperback-from the acclaimed author of For Edgar.

Special Agent Elizabeth Hewitt returns to investigate slayings linked to the nocturnes of one of the world's greatest composers-and experiences firsthand the haunting crescendo of a killer's inspiration.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Rusch's overly intricate second serial-killer whodunit falls short of the high standard set by his debut, For Edgar (2005). Illinois State Special Agent Elizabeth Hewitt gets on the trail of a murderer who appears to simultaneously target beautiful women, who are dispatched with a lethal injection, and older men, who are strangled with nylon stockings. That Hewitt's previous lover turned out to be the human monster she had been tracking in an earlier case makes her the object of scorn and ridicule among her colleagues. Hewitt soon finds a link between the victims' times of death and the airing of Chopin nocturnes on a Chicago classical radio station, which happens to be run by a high school flame of hers, Jimmy Bonson. Bonson comes under suspicion, as does Hewitt's current bedmate, Brady Richter. That Hewitt solves the crimes by chance rather than deduction will lessen the appeal for fair-play fans. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Sheldon Rusch is an advertising executive and yoga instructor. He lives in Mequon, Wisconsin, a northern suburb of Milwaukee, with his wife, two daughters and son. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (September 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425217663
• ISBN-13: 978-0425217665
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,478,478 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

4.0 out of 5 stars A scintillating thriller, September 28, 2006

By 

M Johnsen - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Boy With Perfect Hands (Berkley Prime Crime Mysteries) (Paperback)

I could not put down Sheldon Rusch's THE BOY WITH PERFECT HANDS. This page-turner entertained me with a poetic voice set against crumbling characters and events. I was attracted to the suspenseful piecing together of clues and pushed through the grisly scenes. Hewitt remains a volatile mix of emotion and cerebral control, and I am glad for the messiness. Hewitt's friendships and continuing relationships round out her character and create a richly textured emotional landscape. With Hewitt, the reader can take a moment out of a life and question man's humanity to man as well as within himself. It surfaced with a subtleness and imbued this work with a rich patina of things to come. Why read a horror book? Rusch tugs at how love of oneself and others determines a darkness within or a hope for humanity. Where will Hewitt go from here? I cannot wait to see.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sheldon Rusch proves he is no one hit wonder, September 5, 2006

By 

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

This review is from: The Boy With Perfect Hands (Berkley Prime Crime Mysteries) (Paperback)

A man is found strangled in his home at the same time a woman is found murdered and posed in an outdoor arena. The pattern happens several times. Illinois State Special Agent Elizabeth Taylor Hewitt is assigned the head up the case. Her new captain is not the father figure like her previous one;, in fact he is more like the evil stepfather who never lets Hewitt forget she slept with a serial killer. Elizabeth has a theory that two different people working in tandem are responsible for the series of murders.

Hewitt's first break comes when she notices that in the house of the male victims, the radio was tuned to the classical station WCLS. On the night of the last murder at 3:03 A.M. Nocturne in E. Flat by Chopin was playing. She thinks the killer got into the apartment and played the song working the victim over just as he did with the other male victims. When she goes over to the radio station, she is shocked to learn that the owner is her old high school friend Jimmy Benson. He tells her that the only disgruntled employee he knows is a radio personality he fired. When Hewitt meets that person her instincts tell her he isn't the killer and she moves the investigation into a different direction one that almost costs her and her lover their lives.

Sheldon Rusch proves he is no one hit wonder with THE BOY WITH THE PERFECT HANDS, a mystery that has luscious rich, literary prose, a likeable "everyman" heroine and a group of suspects that could all be the killers. The investigation progresses naturally from one moment to the next and makes the climax feel very right. The protagonist uses tried and true police methods as well as intuition to crack the case wide open.

Harriet Klausner