A Simple Act of Violence
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Washington has a new menace... a serial killer whose victims don't exist...
Washington, embroiled in the mid-term elections, did not want to hear about serial killings. But when the newspapers reported a fourth murder, when they gave the killer a name and details of his horrendous crimes, there were few people that could ignore it.
Detective Robert Miller is assigned to the case, and rapidly uncover a complication. The victims do not officially exist. Their personal details do not register on any known systems. And as Miller unearths ever more disturbing facts, he starts to face truths so far-removed from his own reality that he begins to fear for his life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At the outset of this superb crime thriller from Ellory (The Anniversary Man), Det. Robert Miller, a veteran Washington, D.C., cop who doesn't have much of a life outside his job, arrives at the house of Catherine Sheridan, an attractive woman who's been badly beaten and strangled. Around her neck is a ribbon attached to a luggage tag, the hallmark of the Ribbon Killer, who's claimed three other female victims in the same upscale neighborhood over the past eight months. Bizarrely, Sheridan's murderer ordered pizza delivered, thus insuring that the corpse would be found right away. Meanwhile, in creepy first-person asides, someone using the alias John Robey reveals he knows a great deal about the crimes. As the case unfolds, the motive behind the murders gradually comes into focus, connecting with much larger political issues. Impressive prose and pacing, coupled with a grim, unflinching view of reality that James Ellroy would recognize, make this a must-read for noir fans. 5-city author tour.
