Shannon C.’s review of Bloody Mary: Jacqueline Daniels Mysteries, Book 2 by J.A. Konrath
Mystery fiction released by Hyperion 16 Jun 05
Even though I’m still not a big mystery fan, I really enjoy J.A. Konrath’s Jack Daniels books. They are by turns funny and dark, and even though if I think about the books too long I am left feeling depressed, I still keep reading because tough-as-nails police lieutenant Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels is a character I’ve come to really root for.
In this second installment of the Jack Daniels mysteries, Jack finds herself trying to catch a killer who just may be a fellow cop on the Chicago police force. In the midst of all this, her ex-husband comes back into her life, she insists on her mom moving back in with her, and she still has to deal with the pest that is Harry McGlade, her former partner. In the meantime, Jack’s partner, Herb, is dealing with a midlife crisis of his own.
I really love what Konrath is able to do with Jack, and in this book, we actually see her at her most vulnerable, which is a bit of a challenge considering the fact that she does try to be stoic. In this book, I definitely got a better sense of who she was as a person, and I thought that her confusion over her love life and her worries for her mom were great.
The mystery here is as compelling as it was in the first book. We know right away who the killer is, but rather than stick with the formula he used in the last book, Konrath has this case pan out entirely differently, thus causing more psychological turmoil for poor Jack.
My quibbles with Bloody Mary were the same ones I had with Whiskey Sour. I thought the violence was a bit over the top. I hate how every book ends with Jack getting a proverbial slap in the face for her troubles, although at least this time she actually got the glory for solving the case and dealing with the killer. The killer himself crossed the line into cartoonishly over the top a few times for me, too, which made the climax just a bit less hair-raising than it otherwise might have been.
However, despite my quibbles, I think I liked this book just a shade more than I liked the last one and am looking forward to seeing what else Mr. Konrath has in store for Jack and Herb and their friends.
Grade: B+
Read my review of Whiskey Sour, the first book in the series, here.
Summary from the author’s website:
Start with a tough but vulnerable Chicago cop. Stir in a psychopath with a unique mental condition that programs him to kill. Add a hyperactive cat, an ailing mother, a jealous boyfriend, a high-maintenance ex-husband, and a partner in the throes of a mid-life crisis. Mix with equal parts humor and suspense, and enjoy Bloody Mary – the second novel in the funny, frightening world of Lieutenant Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels.When Jack receives a report of an excess of body parts appearing at the Cook County Morgue, she hopes it’s only a miscount. It’s not. Even worse, these extra limbs seem to be accessorized with Jack’s handcuffs.
Someone has plans for Jack. Very bad plans. Plans that involve everything and everyone that she cares about.
Jack must put her train wreck of a personal life on hold to catch an elusive, brilliant maniac—a maniac for whom getting caught is only the beginning…
Read an excerpt here.
