Shimmer (Sam Becket Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Hilary Norman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Sam Becket Mysteries | Publication Date: September 1, 2009

The new Detective Sam Becket novel - In Miami Beach, all hell is breaking loose. First, a swimmer makes a gruesome discovery, and then the city is rocked by an explosion. Detective Sam Becket has a vicious killer to find, and his only lead is a local who's seen a frightening stranger: a young man, silver from head to toe, shimmering in the night. But nothing can prepare Sam for what the killer has in store. . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British author Norman's terrifying third thriller (after Last Run) to feature African-American homicide detective Sam Becket introduces a memorable villain, Cal the Hater, a psychotic male prostitute whose demented epistle of his joy-giving exploits is one of the book's highlights. The discovery of the body of a young Asian man in a rowboat off South Beach puts Sam and his Cuban-American partner on the Miami Beach, Fla., police force on the killer's trail. As creepy as Hannibal Lecter, Cal (short for Caligula) strangles and/or stabs his victims, then uses bleach to cleanse the wounds. Sam gets a break when his friend Mildred Bleeker, a homeless woman, reports seeing an angel of death near the crime scene. Meanwhile, Sam's white wife, Grace, and her visiting sister must contend with their blackmailing stepbrother. Norman keeps the pace taut as the action builds to a shock-a-roo ending. (Oct.)
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Review

For fans of heart-palpitating, nail-biting psychological thrillers, Norman's latest (following Ralph's Children, 2008) will be just the ticket. Miami detective Sam Becket is back, this time in a case that is as gruesome as it is puzzling. An unidentified man's body is found in a rowboat, which is floating in the water off the beach. Sam and his partner, Martinez, are called to the scene, and despite being tough cops, they are shocked by the state of the mutilated body. When a second body is found just days later, similarly mutilated, Sam and Martinez figure they have a serial killer on their hands. Becket is as tough and canny as they come but likable and principled, too. Norman's complex, terrifying, shock-a-minute plot, coupled with her ability to keep readers on the edges of their seats from first page to last and her skill at showing the dark underbelly of life in sunny Miami, make this one a must-read page-turner. Recommend it to fans of Ridley Pearson and Chelsea Cain. --***Booklist, 1st July 2009

Product Details

• Hardcover: 212 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers; Lrg edition (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0727867849
• ISBN-13: 978-0727867841
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,787,251 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)