Over Tumbled Graves
What is it about the Pacific Northwest that seems to attract mass  murderers who prey on the most vulnerable of society's downtrodden? Had Spokane  journalist Jess Walter made this tantalizing question the centerpiece of his  debut thriller, he might have come up with something other than a relatively  derivative retelling of an all-too-familiar plot. Instead, he takes the idea as  well as the setting for his novel right from the 2000 headlines that trumpeted  the arrest of serial killer Robert Yates for the murders of several young  prostitutes in eastern Washington state.Detective Caroline Mabry, still suffering the after-effects of a domestic  violence incident that turned deadly, is assigned to investigate a killing spree  that begins with the discovery of the mutilated body of first one and then  several other prostitutes who were last seen on the stroll in a part of town  apparently due for wholesale development. Partnered with her old flame Alan  Dupree, a married detective whose sarcastic humor and iconoclastic ways are  barely tolerated in the department, Caroline's investigation focuses on one  Lenny Ryan, already sought in the seemingly unrelated murder of a young drug  dealer. The two headline-grabbing FBI profilers brought into the case to help  the beleaguered local police in their search for Ryan provide Walter with a  subplot that slows down the narrative and adds little except a few cheap shots  to the action. Mabry and Dupree will seem hauntingly familiar to readers of  Ridley Pearson's popular cop thrillers starring Lou Boldt and Daphne Matthews.  Yet Walter is a solid writer with a good command of his craft, and if serial  killers are your style,Over Tumbled Graveswon't disappoint.--Jane  Adams--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.