EXIT FROM GRACE

In Kase’s debut novel, a man’s brutal attack may be related to the murder of six young girls.

A home invasion leaves music producer Marty Riecer near death. The press is quick to associate the assault with a recent string of murders, and Detective Ally Watters finds evidence that connects the incident to a known drug trafficker, Botahva. Several leads start to fit together, and Riecer’s vicious beating is further linked to the murdered girls, as is an attack on Watters. But when the corpses of the suspects start stacking up, police have no choice but to return to square one. Are Grace and Davis, the victim’s children, keeping secrets? The best mysteries offer a slew of murder suspects, and Kase dishes them out in style. There are several possibilities for the Riecer attack alone, and most are listed in a deliberately subtle way: a person’s height mentioned in passing, an intruder’s presumed lankiness. Much of Grace and Davis’ covert behavior—they clearly have it out for Botahva—is presented only to readers, but not everything is revealed; even they remain viable suspects until the end. Secondary characters add flair to the story: Officer McCleary’s daughter is one of Botahva’s victims; Davis’ pregnant wife happens to be the assistant district attorney; and two crime scene techs’ flirty banter adds levity to the narrative. Some of the relationships expound the story as the bonds between people prove to be either a clarification or a catalyst. The novel’s most memorable character is undoubtedly Officer Reparton, the long-suffering rookie cop whose woes provide much comic relief: Over the span of the story, he’s drugged, ridiculed and easily manipulated. The book concludes with a slight twist that, while not an eye-opening turn of events, is quite clever and results in a noteworthy ending.

A steady narrative drive from an author who knows when to stay the course and when to turn.