Mailbox Monday, Sept. 21, 2009

Mailbox Monday

Thursday, September 17
Booked to Die by John Dunning

Tough, book-loving Denver homicide detective Cliff Janeway wants to nail Jackie Newton – a suspected psychopath who just barely beat the rap for a series of vagrant killings. Janeway is certain is sleazy, sadistic nemesis is to blame for the recent murder of a down-and-out rare book hunter – and treats Newton to a rather brutal helping of off-duty justice that ultimately costs the overzealous cop his badge. A civilian once more, Cliff Janeway now has time to pursue his true passion – the buying and selling of valuable first editions – and to get to the bottom of the unfortunate bookscout’s still-unsolved slaying. For somewhere undercover, in the bizarre, cutthroat world of bookmen and collectors, someone is dealing death along with vintage Chandlers and Twains.

I received this book from a trade at the Yahoo group MysteryBookSwap. I bought one of the later ones in this series without knowing it was a series and was pleased to get this first one in the mail.

The Ritual Bath by Faye Kellerman

Detective Peter Decker of the LAPD is stunned when he gets the report. Someone has shattered the sanctuary of a remote yeshiva community in the California hills with an unimaginable crime. One of the women was brutally raped as she returned from the mikvah, the bathhouse where the cleansing ritual is performed. The crime was called in by Rina Lazarus, and Decker is relieved to discover that she is a calm and intelligent witness. She is also the only one in the sheltered community willing to speak of this unspeakable violation. As Rina tries to steer Decker through the maze of religious laws the two grow closer. But before they get to the bottom of this horrendous crime, revelations come to light that are so shocking that they threaten to come between the hard-nosed cop and the deeply religious woman with whom he has become irrevocably linked.

I have several of her other books on my shelf, and wanted to start this series from the beginning. So I received this as part of the abovementioned trade. Definitely looking forward to starting this series!