Breakneck (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "The kid's eyes snapped open..." (more)
Key Phrases: first dan, identification bureau, apartment that morning, Erica Spindler, Agent Smith, Detective Riggio (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Det. Kitt Lundgren and her partner, Mary Catherine Riggio, of the Rockford, Ill., Violent Crimes Bureau pursue a serial killer ripped from Internet urban legend in this unconvincing thriller from bestseller Spindler (Copycat). When Riggios too-good-to-be-true fiancé is caught in the line of fire, the shooting at first appears to be unrelated to the murder spree of Breakneck, who targets computer-savvy 20-somethings. Of course, the connection is immediately obvious to readers, if not the veteran staff of the VCB. Lundgrens preoccupied with mending her broken marriage while ambling toward career burnout, and Riggio doesnt hesitate to throw out the procedural rulebook, eschewing her police training in a desperate search for the truth. Spindler strays from her comfort zone in tackling the mysterious world of cyber crime. Casting disaffected youth as criminal masterminds doesnt ring true, while descriptions of technology and its applications are painstakingly overexplained. (Jan.)
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From Booklist

Rockford, Illinois, homicide detective Mary Catherine Riggio is having a rotten time. Not long after her boyfriend proposes marriage, he’s murdered. Soon after that, MC’s cousin Tommy is also killed. And then there’s the mysterious death of a young computer whiz, whose killer apparently made off with his computer after breaking his neck. Can MC and her partner, Kitt Lundgren, solve the kid’s murder, and can MC find out who’s responsible for the deaths of her cousin and fiancé? Readers of this follow-up to 2006’s Copycat will likely see the plot twists and surprising revelations coming long before the characters do, but that’s OK. The two leads are a likable pair, each with her own personal foibles, and the dramatic element of MC’s unexpected loss of her fiancé gives the novel an emotional layer that will keep readers interested, even if the story itself is rather predictable. This solid-enough mystery suffers from the lack of any real surprises, but it will appeal to the author’s fans, who will appreciate the continuing development of the lead character. --David Pitt

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1 edition (January 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312363907
• ISBN-13: 978-0312363901
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,008 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good story, bad writing, December 30, 2008

By	Seven Kitties "7kitties" (Blue Point, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

(What's this?)

Fans of Spindler are going to get and love this book no matter what I say, which falls under that 'to each his own' category. Please allow me to say my opinion, and enjoy the novel! I'll address readers who may not have read any of her earlier MC Riggio novels and are wondering if they should jump in.

You can pick this up and not be utterly lost as to what's going on in the larger arc of the series. Spindler gives plenty of trackback comments that allow you to figure out what had happened in previous cases.

The actual plot is pretty good.

The policework and the writing, however, killed this for me. For a police-procedural, there's almost no understanding of 'procedure' beyond the lame stereotypes--the angry detective lieutenant, the forensic geek with the long memory, and interagency rivalry. Chain of custody? This case would be impossible to try in any court because of the main character's complete inability to follow police procedure.

The heroine lacks any empathy for her friend, who sacrificed her own chance at reconciliation with her husband to help out MC. There's nothing that makes MC stand out from any of a dozen police-detective heroines on bookshelves today, other than the fact that she's completely unlikeable. I cringed as Ed McBain's police characters made dumb moves, but I somehow still liked them. MC is impossible to like. She lies, cheats, throws temper tantrums, and treats her partner unforgivably badly. She witholds evidence due to petty jealousy and the inability to believe that her cousin could be...not so perfect. Corpses keep showing up around her, and yet, she's never even cursorily suspected of the crimes.

Older readers may be familiar with the host of offensive Italian goombah stereotypes that comprise MC's family--newer readers might be dismayed. Yes, every Italian 'big family, mangia mangia, Catholic, overemotional where's my grandbabies' stereotype appeared in this book. All that's missing is the knitting black-clad grandmother. (Aha! Spindler isn't Italian enough to know that one, I guess).

The writing is execrable. We hear three times about a young man that 'he had his whole life before him.' Verbatim, in three successive chapters. Dullsville. And when I came across this little gem, I almost threw the book agains the wall and gave up. From page 97, "You're twenty-one. You're a guy. And you're Italian. Being a screwup is practically a requirement." What?!(This, from our heroine--I told you she was pretty unlikeable, didn't I?)

The murder plot is okay, and peopled with enough twisted and devious types to hold your interest and not be instantly solveable, which I liked. The codebreaking could have been handled better (not just in a more professional, police-like way that could be prosecuted in a court of law), and the climax has plenty of suspense. If you can drag yourself through the thin writing, and summon up any empathy for MC (honestly, I didn't care if she made it out alive or not), it's a decent read. But for readers looking for a compelling detective, accurate police procedure, or any originality whatsoever in character or dialogue, this, you can take a pass on.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not convinced, December 31, 2008

By	deeper waters (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

(What's this?)

This was an OK book that missed the mark. The story started off well with the author making an honest effort to create suspense and complexity. As it progressed however, it was as if Spindler lost her direction. The demise of the characters felt predictable, choppy, implausable and redundant, the interpersonal relationships distracting and lifeless and I simply did not care much about anyone. Too many words were spent on a rather pedantic/technical presentation of cyber-crime and red herrings were awkward rather than genuinely misleading. In short, do not break your neck to read this one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moves at Breakneck Speed, March 18, 2009

By	Danielle Lane (Horseshoe, North Carolina) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

(What's this?)

This book opens with an intruder named Breakneck in Matt Martin's apartment. Matt wakes with a gun between his eyes. Breakneck pushes the barrel of a thirty-eight hard into Matt's forehead, tells him he wants what Matt had stolen. Matt is a cracker, a computer hacker who crosses the line. Matt tells Breakneck what he wants to know and Breakneck breaks his neck.

Rockford Detective Mary Catherine "M.C." Riggio is shocked when her Psychologist lover asks her to marry him. She says yes, then gets the call about Matt's homicide. She meets partner Kitt Lundgren at the scene and they start their investigation. Then M.C. fiancé is killed, a bullet between the eyes. He'd been driving her young cousin's car. Then the young cousin is killed. You guessed it, a bullet between the eyes.

And to top it off, M.C. is getting notes telling her her fiancé wasn't what he was cracked up to be. Now the pair have more than on case to crack in this novel that moves along at breakneck speed, with plenty of twist and turns and lots of bodies. This is my first Erica story, it won't be my last.