Kill Me Again

I've read all but one of Detective Bishop's books now and this may be the best of the Fey Croaker series. The plot is complex, with a twist a few pages from the end that I didn't see coming, although the hints were there. This mystery seems to have the best balance of Fey Croaker's personality (self-doubt, anguish, and determination), LAPD procedure, and the plot itself. The supporting cast is a little less colorful than in the other Fey Croaker books - Alphabet and Hammer and Nails are missing from this one, for example - but one detective's obnoxious behavior is a plot element that had to have more time than the other players. And in this book Croaker's horses actually take part in the story, not just serve as props. But the plot shines here - unfolding the identity of the murdered woman, tracking down her aliases, following the money, all leading to a surprising ending. As in some of the other books, a liberal defense lawyer mucks up the investigation, although Janice Ryder is colder and less obnoxious than similar characters elsewhere in the Fey Croaker series. And the investigation is subject to the whims of internal politics. All of this is well blended to produce a book which manages to keep the suspense going.Now for a couple of nits. The time difference between the murders was ten years, not 18. And Bishop has a habit of mangling names of buildings at the University of California which is maddening, for me at least. (Boal for Boalt, Bunch for Bunche in another book.) But the LA scene is presented fairly well, not in the moody descriptive sense of Raymond Chandler (still unmatched IMHO for LA background), but in general accuracy...unlike some others I've read!When reading any of Paul Bishop's books, I get a real flavor of life on the other side of the counter at the West L.A. police station. This is a police procedural mystery, but doesn't trip into the pitfalls which make other similar books drag. As another review noted, it may take a while to track this down, but it's worth the effort.If you are a regular mystery reader, this one should be on your reading list. Bon Apetit!

This book is now 7 years old and may be a little hard to find but perhaps you could find it in a used bookstore as I did. The plot is very easy to follow and the characters are all very believeable. Paul Bishop is a veteran homicide cop in Los Angeles (at least he was at the time of this book). The book revolves around the death of a woman who's fingerprints identify her as someone who was murdered 18 years before. The woman's ex- husband may or may not have done the deed. Fey Croaker the lead investergator on the case is one tough cop. The book has a lot of twists and is a pretty quick read. If you like police novels and who-done its, you'll really like this one.