Cold Case Squad (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "Long legged and nearly naked, the reclining woman stared into the night, her huge eyes blank and soulless, her long hair barely covering her voluptuous..." (more)
Key Phrases: verbal judo, chief medical examiner, Big Red, Charles Terrell, Miami Beach (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Usual series heroine Britt Montero (The Ice Maiden; You Only Die Twice) is nowhere to be seen as Buchanan focuses instead on the Miami Police Department's Cold Case Squad, led by Sgt. Craig Burch: "I breathe new life into old, cold cases and track killers whose trails vanished long ago like footprints on a sea washed beach." Burch is backed by detectives Sam Stone and Pete Nazario and takes orders from Lt. K.C. Riley, who is grieving the death of ex-lover, Kendall McDonald. In fact, all of the squad members have problems both on and off the force, subplots that play out alongside the several murders that command most of the attention. Detective Stone is on the trail of a serial killer who specializes in old ladies, laying the bodies out in meticulously composed death scenes. Stone suspects the killer is an orthodox Jew, clued in by his feisty grandma, who used to work for a Jewish family. The chief case is 12 years old and involves Charles Terrell, who everyone thought was accidentally blown up while working on his car. This cold case heats up quickly when the team chases down Terrell's sexy ex-wife, Natasha, who's dallying with her gardener, Nelson, a naïve Cuban immigrant who provides an amusing Carl Hiassen-like chase scene toward the end. With Buchanan's practiced expertise, all the cases eventually get solved, and the squad's personal problems are either squared away or kept in abeyance for another installment. Buchanan's memorable characters strut their wacky stuff, but, as always, it's the fascinating, hothouse city of Miami that's the real star of the show.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Buchanan launches a new series with this novel, starring Sergeant Craig Burch of the Miami Police Department's Cold Case Squad. Fans of Buchanan's Britt Montero series may recognize Burch as the cop who helped crime reporter Montero solve a cold case in The Ice Maiden (2002). Although Burch made a superb supporting character, in his first role as the lead, he comes off a bit like a newborn colt on shaky legs. Buchanan has given him the traditional backstory of the homicide cop so haunted by his work that his family life unravels, but he needs considerably more fleshing out if he is going to become a fully formed character. In addition, his first-person narration is wince-producing, a collection of Chandleresque cliches ("Like all things good and bad in the world, it began with a woman") and strained alliterations ("booze, broads, and busted marriages"). Buchanan is on more solid ground with plot and forensic procedure. The ex-wife of a man who was blown to bits while working on his vintage Thunderbird 12 years previously seeks the aid of the Cold Case Squad. The mystery is intensified by the ex-wife's conviction that her deceased husband may still be alive. Despite the missteps, this may yet develop into an intriguing series, and with Buchanan's name on it, it's sure to attract interest. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (April 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743476638
• ISBN-13: 978-0743476638
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #283,299 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good book., April 9, 2005

By	L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Cold Case Squad (Hardcover)

With shades of the 87th Precinct, the Cold Case Squad has a wonderful cast of characters with diverse pasts and lives yet working well together as a team. There is excellent dialogue, humor and descriptions of Miami, but balanced with interesting procedure and good suspense. While it helps to have read "The Ice Maiden," it's not completely necessary as this is a wonderful book on it's own and I hope to see a lot more of the Cold Case Squad.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun and interesting read..., January 5, 2005

By	Robert Wellen (CHICAGO, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Cold Case Squad (Hardcover)

Buchanan's book is a quick read, but not a shallow one. The characters are all interesting and the mysteries (yes, plural) are interesting. There are no absurd scenes where the killer explains it all...just good dectective work. At times she seems a bit like other Miami authors with bizarre car chases or odd family histories, but overall the book works. I have not read the Britt Montero mysteries, but perhaps these are not entirely new characters to those fans. However, as a stand alone, this is a good solid mystery.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Dead Speak, January 21, 2009

By	Nash Black "Troubadour" (Jamestown, KY) - See all my reviews

Edna Buchanan carries the characters from THE ICE MAIDEN forward to COLD CASE SQUAD. Old deaths that push their way into the present.
A woman walks into a Miami police station claiming she has been seeing her husband all over town. The problem is he has been dead for twelve years of has he?
Edan Buchanan has been keeping fans interested in the streets of Miami for a good while. This reader hopes she keeps up the pace.
Nash Black, author whose books are now available on Amazon Kindle.
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