Time of Death [Hardcover]

Shirley Kennett (Author)

Book Description

Series: Five Star First Edition Mystery | Publication Date: December 14, 2005

The mutilated body on the St. Louis riverfront is just the beginning. PJ Gray, psychologist and expert in forensic virtual reality, has her hands full when the Metro Mangler claims more victims. As the case heats up, so do her feelings for her partner, Detective Leo Schultz. They're like bolts of lightning that sizzle and hiss the closer they get, swept up in a relationship that is more force of nature than emotional state. PJ crawls into the murderer's mind by experiencing the killings in virtual reality. Schultz relies on a cop's instincts. Neither of them can solve the baffling deaths. If they're all connected, then there are two types of murders: one intensely personal and bloody, the other quick and efficient. Two killers, or one killer with different motivations? It's a profiler's nightmare. As a wealthy family's secrets unravel and a thirty-year-old murder comes to light, PJ is suddenly in danger of crossing the line from investigator to victim.

Shirley Kennett is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the American Crime Writers League. She lives with her husband, two sons, and several cats in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The hook in Kennett's PJ Gray series, starring a St. Louis psychological profiler, is the use of virtual-reality software to re-create crime scenes. The high-tech wizardry is fine, but what really makes this series go is the fiery relationship and strong personalities of the costars, gutsy protagonist PJ (Penelope) and her Andy Sipowicz-like boyfriend, Leo Schultz, a police detective. This pair could be solving cases with legal pads and pencils, and readers would still be drawn to them. This time single-mom PJ is keeping an eye on the online gaming addiction of her teenage son and trying to decide what kind of commitment to give the lovably exasperating Schultz. Meanwhile, the police are struggling with a series of brutal murders that may be tied to a serial killer. Schultz hits the streets in search of clues, and PJ fires up her -virtual-reality program to relive the grisly crimes. A top-notch series that satisfies both readers seeking page-turning suspense and those looking for characters so real you almost expect to see them at the local diner. Jenny McLarin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"This rip-roaring page-turner of a thriller builds to its nail-nibbling climax on a solid foundation of police procedure, cutting-edge Virtual Reality crime-scene simulation, and realistic and likeable protagonists."
-- Carole Nelson Douglas, author of Femme Fatale and >Spider Dance

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Five Star; 1 edition (December 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594143099
• ISBN-13: 978-1594143090
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #449,195 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've worn a number of hats, including those of corporate analyst, business systems programmer, independent computer consultant , and pet store employee (the one who cleans the cages), but my writer's hat is by far the most comfortable - and most satisfying - of them all. I've been a mystery fan as long as I can remember, which may have had something to do with growing up in a converted turn-of-the-century funeral home.

I've been involved with computers most of my life. In my consulting career, I focused on improving the quality of patient care through computerized clinical applications. Conducting business with clients around the country from my home office, I was a pioneer of telecommuting before the word was commonplace.

Starting married life as a teenager, I recently celebrated over three decades of married life with my husband. I discovered motherhood not in the usual fashion, but by bringing home an adopted child from Peru, astounding myself by falling in love with my son at first sight, changing my first diaper (ever), and floating down the Amazon, all on the same trip. Since then, an Ethiopian boy has joined our family. The two boys, now fifteen years old, created 'twins' from greatly different cultures. Truly mine is a global family.

I'm a St. Louis native and a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the American Crime Writers League, and International Thriller Writers. My hobbies are reading (not surprising), gardening, and photography.

I have six thrillers published, more on the way, plus I'm trying something new: a tie-in book for the TV series Without A Trace. Look for it in the summer of July 2007.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You WILL look at your family differently after reading this book!, February 7, 2006

By 

Maxine Olmstadt "avid mystery reader" (St. Louis, MO -United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Time of Death (Hardcover)

This is the fifth book in Shirley Kennett's riveting series
featuring PJ Gray and in the opinion of this fan, the best so far. Her story centers on PJ Gray, a virtual reality specialist who consults with the St. Louis Police Department and is the head of a team of 3 police detectives who solve high-profile murder cases with a combination of old-fashioned procedural police work and high-tech virtual reality simulations. Let me briefly tell you about the fascinating virtual reality world PJ employs, since this is a unique aspect of the Kennett series. You do not have to be a computer genius to go with PJ into the simulation since Kennett has a knack for clearly explaining what is happening without speaking down to the reader. These simulations feature genman, genwoman, gengirl, genboy and genbaby as well as generic houses, cars, and other locations and are programmed by PJ to match the particulars of the crime. The author has also instilled an fascinating artificial intelligence aspect to the simulations, in which the program suggests the most likely outcomes/novel outcomes/possibilities.

This case involves an extended family, in particular well-to-do sisters, and ranges over generations and locales. Most of Kennett's books are set in the St. Louis area and this story follows suit. The settings are so vivid and realistic that I can smell the onions when PJ opens the door of Millie's diner! Time of Death begins with the discovery of a mangled corpse on the St. Louis levee near the Arch. The first setting in every PJ Gray book is a shocking introduction to the story and this one is no exception. You will be hooked and rush to continue reading the story to see the outcome of the case.

PJ is a middle-aged mother of a teenage son (Thomas), whose husband left her for a younger woman. PJ picked up the pieces of her life, loaded her son into her car and moved to St. Louis to start a new life. She is attracted to the experienced detective Leo Schultz who is assigned to work with her. Their developing relationship gives yet another aspect to the series, a romantic and emotional overtone based on mature attraction and concern for bringing up Thomas properly in this day and age. In this story, Thomas strays into danger from following onling role-playing gaming to a dangerous conclusion.

Every family has secrets, right? Discover one family's secrets in this well-written, realistic and gripping story.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars interesting police procedural, December 31, 2005

By 

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

This review is from: Time of Death (Hardcover)

In St. Louis psychologist Dr. Penelope Jennifer "PJ" Gray never expected to be involved with the police as she is now, but her Computer Homicide Investigation Program (CHIP) has proven so successful, she is an adjunct on murder inquiries. The single mom of a teen, PJ provides virtual reality forensics to crime scenes and is seeing on and off her partner homicide detective Leo Schultz, who recently has been sarcastic with her.

Their current case involves the brutal Metro Mangler as they dub him who abuses his or her victim, the latest being realtor Arlen Merritt, whose penis was removed. The spouse seems odd in how she grieves her loss, but does not appear to have been the killer especially since she would need a lot more bulk to move the body as it was done. Another killing with much of the trademark of the Mangler occurs, but with major differences especially the cold precision without the heated frenzy of the Merritt murder. While Leo thinks two culprits are committing the crimes, PJ wonders if there is one clever murderer disguising the real motive with two disparate homicides.

TIME OF DEATH, the latest PJ Gray police procedural (see GRAY MATTER), is an interesting homicide investigative tale starring a fully developed team including the lead couple struggling with a difficult case made more complex with a second murderer. The story line moves mostly along the investigative track, but is brilliantly supplemented with the seemingly dysfunctional relationship between PJ and Leo as seen totally from her perspective. Though the heroine provides plenty of interesting observations, the use of CHIP is limited so that the forensic virtual reality program takes a back seat to old fashion sleuthing.

Harriet Klausner

5.0 out of 5 stars She does not disappoint., June 24, 2011

By 

MoodyRed (Hillsdale, MI, United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Time of Death (Hardcover)

I have read and loved each of her books. Shirley brings her characters to life. I look forward to her next book with great anticipation.