Chill of Night

I had a hard time putting this book down. Well written and kept my attention.

Homicide detective Artemis Beam has been retired for four months. He left his job at the NYPD after experiencing two traumatic events--the suicide of his wife of twenty-three years, and a job-related shooting that left him with an injury to his right leg. After the shooting, Beam received a promotion to captain and started collecting his pension. He hates retirement; since leaving the force, he is having trouble sleeping and wanders around feeling alone and useless. His psychoanalyst sister, Cassie, thinks that he should try therapy to help him adjust to this new stage of his life. However, as so often happens in novels of this type, Beam is seduced out of retirement. Deputy Chief Andy Da Vinci asks him to head up a team to track down the "Justice Killer," a man who executes jurors (mostly forepersons) whose "not guilty" verdicts allowed accused murderers, child molesters, and other suspected felons to go free. The vigilante, who calls himself "Justice," has decided to take the law into his own hands and he has an uncanny way of disappearing after committing his crimes. He leaves no evidence behind except for a capital letter "J." Da Vinci believes that Beam is the perfect man for the job, considering his impressive record of successfully tracking down serial killers throughout his career. Beam's team consists of Detective Looper, a man in his fifties who is trying to quit smoking, and Nell Corey, a woman coming off a nasty divorce who has a tainted reputation in the police department. Although the detectives conduct endless interviews and tenaciously pursue all possible leads, their investigation goes nowhere. Why is Justice able to kill so easily without being caught? The bodies continue to pile up and the cops are increasingly frustrated. At almost five hundred pages, "Chill of Night" is a bit long, but length has its virtues. Lutz takes the time to humanize both the killer and his victims. He also delves into the delicate relationship between Beam and Nola, the woman he loves, who blames him for her husband's death. Beam desperately wants to make peace with Nola, but she rebuffs him again and again. In addition, there is an engaging subplot about Nell Corey's attempts to embark on a new romantic relationship. "Chill of Night" is a workmanlike novel with an ending that will probably not shock alert readers. However, there is plenty of suspense and excitement to keep the audience engrossed and Lutz's smooth prose style, crisp dialogue, and gentle humor make this an entertaining and satisfying police procedural.

In "Chill of Night", John Lutz once again presents the reader with an ever gripping tale of terror about a serial killer. In his "Night" books, Lutz has chosen to create a series of characters--retired detectives, backup detectives--who are well developed and interesting. In "Chill", retired detective Artemis Beam and his partners hunt down a killer whose purported motive is bringing down the justice system which allows guilty killers to go free. There are no gruesome horrors in these killings, but the tension continues to build as the killer broadens his target base and New York City is terrorized. The eventual discovery of the identify of the Justice Killer is a surprise with a twist, with subtle clues presented along the way which were overlooked by this reader, only realized in hindsight. Set aside some time when you start this book--you won't want to put it down.

He retired from NYPD after taking a bullet while chasing down a serial killer, but former homicide detective Artemis Beam knows he really left because he no longer had the patience to deal with unctuous superiors who interfered, not helped, on investigations. However, retirement is tedious and with the recent suicide of his wife ennui has set in on top of the despondency and survivor He, in a dark mood, negatively muses on what he could have done different. Because of his well earned reputation for catching serial killers, Deputy Chief Andy da Vinci asks Beam to help the department capture the "Justice Killer"; this serial killer murders people who served as foremen on juries that freed the "guilty"; the culprit leaves behind a trademark red J drawn on the victim's body. Beam agrees to investigate, but quickly realizes the Justice Killer seems one step ahead of the police making him wonder if an insider is the murderer. The former cop concludes that the Justice killer has plans to leave a J on the task force hunting him or perhaps even her. CHILL OF NIGHT is a typical serial killer cat and mouse thriller except that talented John Lutz refreshes the sub-genre with a sense of the terror gripping the city and how much the J-killer debilitates the justice system. The suspense remains in the stratosphere from the moment da Vinci brings out of retirement Beam and never slows down until the final confrontation between the killer and the retired cop ends with a masterful twist that readers will realize afterward was in our face, but brilliantly disguised. Mr. Lutz's fans or anyone who appreciate a tense police procedural will appreciate this high octane thriller. Harriet Klausner