Applying all those questions to Elena Forbes’ debut novel Die With Me, January Magazine critic Stephen Miller seems satisfied that the answer is “yes” on all counts. In his review today, he writes that “Forbes, a former investment banker, develops her story in much the same manner as the late Ed McBain did his 87th Precinct books.” Her premiere tale follows Detective Inspector Mark Tartaglia as he investigates the reported suicide of a “moody and depressed teenage girl” named Gemma Kramer. However, there are indications that this might not be a tragic but simple episode of self-destruction--notably, “the signs of date rape drugs in Gemma’s system, and the lock of hair that was shorn from the back of her head with a razor.” As Tartaglia and his colleagues investigate, they discover similar cases of “teenagers who fell from heights inside of churches and whose hair was cut in the same manner.”
Although reviewer Miller has a few reservations about Forbes’ cadre of London cops (“Many of these characters seem to have sprung from Central Casting ...”), and he says the novel’s conclusion could have benefited from more thought and novelty, he’s impressed with the author’s portrayal of “Tom,” the killer in this story:
While this is certainly not the first time we’ve been allowed inside a psychotic’s head as preparations are underway for claiming the next victim, Forbes is smart enough to show us a slayer whose best-laid plans, even those involving human targets of inferior intelligence, can sometimes go badly awry. Tom’s bobbing and weaving seems as much luck as cold-blooded skill, and the suspense is ratcheted as a result.You can read all of the review here.
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