The Killing Zone
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Wager hunts for the killer of a black councilman, as the city threatens to riot
Gabe's girlfriend Jo is drowning. She stares up at him, eyes wide with terror, as he fights to grab her hand. In a moment, the frothing river swallows her up, and Jo is gone.
Nine months have passed since Jo's death, and Detective Wager cannot get the image out of his mind. Rather than fight the urge to blame himself, he embraces the guilt, punishing himself for it every day. Only his work on the homicide squad can distract him, and he has just landed a case fraught with political implications. A crusading black city councilman is found murdered in an abandoned lot, and the city teeters on the edge of a riot. As Wager investigates the politician's secret past, he must balance his own pain with a burning need to see justice done.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fans of Denver P.D. detective Gabe Wager (The Alvarez Journal, Ground Money) will be pleased to find him easing up on angst and getting back to police procedure. When black City Councilman Green is found shot to death in an empty lot, Wager gets the case. He also gets pressure, some of it dumb, from a new lieutenant. Wager, still mourning his dead lover Jo, must also cope with a new partner, Lester Stubbs. During the murder investigation Wager finds that Green, a successful furniture dealer, was apparently loved by everyone. As racial tensions in Denver rise Wager hears of a Council zoning change that's "a little bit irregular,'' which he knows is ``like being just a little bit pregnant.'' And then there's the matter of Green's white mistress. Burns has written a first-rate procedural that includes a wonderful cast of characters, a sharp look at ``progress'' and the different, subtle brands of racism (Wager is half Chicano), police politics and a stunning riot scene. The rich, satisfying plot is propelled by Burns's smooth style. A must for procedural fans or anyone interested in big-city life. Mysterious Book Club alternate.
