A Perfect Grave

I love Rick Mofina's books. I have read several of his books.and everyone is as good as the one before. I just finished reading A Perfect Grave and it is a real page turner once you start to read it is hard to put down. His books hold your interest from the first page.

Rick Mofina's background as a journalist served him well in this novel; it's just the facts, ma'am, no more, no less. The action zips by and no effort is wasted on unnecessary delving into character's lives. In both the characters and the plot, what we're given is only what's essential to propel us from one chapter to another. The plot is linear and the reader can breeze through this in no time at all. It's not remarkable, it's not innovative, it's not complex, and the writing is missing the ferociousness I'd expect given the theme. What it is, however, is darn entertaining. Suspense is sustained all throughout, none of it forced, and it's a non-stop thrill ride from the first chapter to the last. It's an enjoyable few hours of distraction.

"A Perfect Grave", Rick Mofina, Pinnacle Books, NY 2007,. ISBN 13:978-0-7860-1848-2,PC 362 pgs., 6 3/4" x 4 1/8". Journalist and Author Rick Mofina, having more than titles under his belt, is an accomplished fiction writer who provides excellent character developments, and an intertwined plot which manages to admirably remain unpredictable until the very end. "A Perfect Grace" makes for a good read, re-introducing us to Reporter Jason Wade, now the third in a series featuring an upbeat protagonist newswpaper crime reporter. In this thriller, Jason finds himself in conflicts with his father, previously a policeman and a woman detective for whom there exists a somewhat more than platonic relationship: in the end, their mind-sets find harmony. The title is most interesting, but we only discover its meaning at the "end of the chase". We may speculate, after this read, that there are a lot of unknowns in people about us, secreted desires, fears, love, greed and sometimes an apparent need to seek refuge or solace in the "bottle".

Everyone who knows Sister Anne thinks she's a saint for her compassion and good works concerning the homeless, the mentally ill, prisoners, and families in crisis. The homeless adore her for her non-judgmental attitude and the community as a whole believes she is a truly good and moral person. It comes as a shock when this good person is killed in her home by a man who knows her and wants something he believes she has. Seattle Mirror reporter Jason Wade scoops all the other news people when he reports on the weapon, a knife stolen from the soup kitchen where Sister Anne worked. Slowly he gathers information from a variety of sources that a strange man in the soup kitchen talked with Sister Anne who tried to minister to him and he made her sad. What Jason doesn't know is that his father is connected to this case by the incident that made him quit SPD or that an innocent child with a brain tumor in need of surgery will be kidnapped by this killer in order to get what he wants from the child's mother. The reporter remains clueless and time is running out for an innocent child. Thriller writers like Rick Mofina make the genre something special. Jason goes from being a disgraced journalist to the man who keeps getting the inside breaking story. It is hard to accept anyone killing a nun who everyone believes is a saint but as Jason finds out, there is no evidence of her existence prior to her entering the order. The answer to the mystery lies in the nun's past and Jason, a strong, kind yet vulnerable tough guy doesn't even know where to start looking. Harriet Klausner

Seattle Mirror Reporter Jason Wade is back in the third thriller featuring him. He is again in Dutch with his boss and pressured to get more news stories on his crime beat. Sister Anne, a much loved nun is brutally murdered by a knife-wielding assailant and the city is in an uproar. He scoops the other newspapers when he reports the bloody knife found outside Sister Anne's apartment, but his boss still is riding him for more. It turns out that his father and a widow with a young son are eventually involved in the story. Jason's relationship with a female detective on the Seattle Police force is also brittle and falling apart. The author skillfully weaves all these story elements into a great story that keeps you guessing right up to the final chapter. Also recommended: Any other thriller by Rick Mofina. Creepers and Scavenger, both by David Morrell