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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a stunning first novel, 20 Sep 2000
By A Customer
This is the story of the search for a serial killer in a small University town in England. The killer has a penchant for young red headed women who he kills with a great amount of rage. There are suspects galore and each time you believe you know who the killer is, something else will be added to the mix to make you reconsider. Was I ever surprised to discover that Ms. Hale took what I thought would be a British police procedural and turned it into one of the most poignant love stories I have read in quite a while-the love between a man and a woman; the love between a parent and child; and the love between friends. In the course of exploring each of these relationships, Ms. Hale exposes the vulnerabilities of each character until you know them intimately. The beauty is that in doing this, she does not detract from the story line and the suspense surrounding the quest for the true identity of the killer. In addition, Ms. Hale has managed, in brutal honesty, to address an issue that often pops up in British police procedurals- that of the older made-it-up-through the ranks copper trying to deal with the younger university educated police officer. How Ms. Hale has managed to address all these issues in a not-very long book is a marvel. The only problem I had with this book was with the story line centering on a romance between two of the characters. Although this is treated with the same intensity as the other relationships in the book, I found certain aspects of this a bit contrived and more in line with the romance novel genre. In closing, I would heartily recommend this book. I anxiously look forward to Ms. Hale's next book. If she were to take but one of the many complex issues she explored in this book and make it the crux of her next book, I would be very happy.
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