A Killer's Kiss (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. At the start of bestseller Lashner's superior seventh crime thriller to feature Philadelphia DA Victor Carl (after 2006's Marked Man), two police detectives pay Carl a late-night call to inform him that Dr. Wren Denniston, the husband of Carl's former fiancée, Julia, was found shot to death in his Chestnut Hill mansion earlier that evening. Since Carl, known for his malleable ethics, had been entertaining Julia at his apartment shortly before the detectives' arrival in an effort to revive their relationship, he becomes a prime suspect in the doctor's murder. Unsure whether his lover is setting him up, Carl must dodge a rogue's gallery of villains who had their own reasons for wanting Denniston out of the way before he can uncover the real culprit and figure out Julia's true feelings for him. Chandler and Hammett fans looking for a fix will be well rewarded. (Sept.)
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Product Description

"You want to know what deceit tastes like?
It's sweet. Like honey."

Over the course of his shady legal career, Victor Carl has made a host of bad decisions, but letting his ex-fiancée, Julia, fall back into his life and into his bed might be the worst. Julia's husband has just been murdered, her fingerprints are all over the crime scene, and $1.7 million in cash has inexplicably vanished. If Victor didn't know better, he might think Julia was setting him up.

But Julia is drop-dead gorgeous and lust trumps reason 24/7 in Victor Carl's world. Victor wants to believe the Beatles were right, that all you need is love. But why are the cops accusing Victor of murder? And what is the murder weapon doing in his bedroom? And who is the dead woman in the freezer?

Suddenly, the wary lawyer is no longer fighting to rekindle a lost love . . . he's fighting to save himself.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (August 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061143464
• ISBN-13: 978-0061143465
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #511,146 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars STEAMY, SUSPENSEFUL, STAY-UP-LATE READING, October 26, 2007

By	Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

With the first few pages of the seventh crime tale starring Victor Carl readers may well be tsk-tsking, thinking, "He should have known better." Right, he should have, but lapses in judgment are very much a part of his charm. Carl is a Philadelphia DA, not at all short changed when it comes to smarts but who also makes the worst decisions. He's a bit of an idiosyncratic hero, and therein lies some of his attraction. Readers pull for him and turn pages to find out what in the world he's going to do next.

With A Killer's Kiss we immediately know what he did first. As Carl says, "Old love doesn't disappear; it is too potent an elixir for that. Instead it burrows deep into bone, like a parasite, waiting until just the right moment to reassert itself and sabotage your life."

So, when ex fiancé Julia shows up at his apartment apparently wanting to relight their former fire, he doesn't waste any time. He forgets that she abruptly dumped him for wealthy Rolex wearing Dr. Wren Denniston. However, this brief recapturing of what once was or perhaps never was is interrupted by a pounding on his apartment door. Two detectives are there to tell him that Dr. Denniston has just been murdered and, quite obviously, he's a suspect.

Coincidence? Clearer minds would not think so. But for Carl logic flies out the window as far as Julia is concerned. He suddenly finds himself having not only to clear himself but also determines to prove Julia's innocence.

That in itself is a monumental task but enter a crazed criminal and his attendant goons demanding some missing millions. They not only make matters worse but very nearly do away with Carl.

With picture perfect descriptions of Philadelphia areas, A Killer's Kiss is one more robust, rousing, riot of a tale from the inexhaustible Lashner. To carry the alliteration further, it's steamy, suspenseful, stay-up late reading.

- Gail Cooke

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just the Right Mix, September 16, 2007

By	Michael P. Maslanka (dallas, texas United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First, a confession: I have all the books in the Victor Carl series and they all sit here(with the exception of Hostile Witness) half read: they were good, but it was always too much noir and not enough plot or too much plot and not enough noir. And, about 100 pages overweight. But the latest gets it just right: Victor is still ethically challanged; he wisecracks but not as much and when he does, they work and propel the story, rather than distracting from it("In love, as in boxing, it is always dangerous to move up in class"); justice is done which in Victor's world is not the same as what the law demands. And in this latest, Lashner shows a talent for creating interesting and believable secondary characters, with Derek a young African American who I think we will see in the future and Gregor, an eastern European thug. They are not drawn too broadly as in earlier novels(the older Jewish PI in an earlier work was just too much). The acknowledgment page says that Lashner is on hiatus from Victor and will return at some point. I'll look forward to it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lawyer Carl and author Lashner make a great team, August 29, 2007

By	armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

Victor Carl is a lawyer and by his own admittance, not a great one, but I have to say he is probably one of the best characters I have ever read in a mystery novel. What I really love about these books is that you pick up any one of them and jump right into his life.

In A Killer's Kiss, Carl is unexpectedly reunited with an old flame. If you know how Victor's life works, this will not be a wondrous reunion, it will in fact turn out the way most of the Philadelphia lawyer's adventures do-badly. Without delay or much hesitation, he finds himself in lust, willing to try it again. This, despite the fact that this former flame left him at the altar years before without explanation.

Julia however, is still married and has recently been receiving anonymous and openly threatening letters she has incorrectly attributed to Carl. She suggests that they meet, shows Victor the letters and which he explains are not from him. The meeting goes sour when Victor lashes at her verbally about why she left him. She leaves, but the meeting don't stop. The love they had seems to rekindle, at least in Victor's shameless mind. Julia calls him one night from outside his building and asks if she can come up. Thinking he has a chance to re-consummate the relationship, he agrees. Shortly after her arrival, there is a knock on the door. In his hallway are two Philadelphia police detectives, who want to question Victor about the murder of Julia's husband, only two hours ago.

This story is intricately spun as all Lashner novels are. With disparate, yet parallel plot lines and a unique set of characters that leave the reader wondering how all this will mesh in the end.

In A Killer's Kiss Lashner has perfected in Victor Carl, a character whose sarcastic wit you will love to read. He is the perpetual underdog looking for that one big case that will bring notoriety, and financial happiness. Unfortunately, Victor continuously seems to put his life in danger to achieve his goals. A Killer's Kiss is no exception.

Armchair Interviews says: Lashner's wit and cynicism are still there, and they are as fresh as the first Victor Carl novel. You WILL laugh out loud!