Book Review: Ruthless Game

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Ruthless Game     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Danielle Girard
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Police Procedural   Psychological Suspense
Onyx, Jun 2001, $6.99, 368 pp.

When she awakens Berkeley rookie police officer Alex Kincaid wonders if she somehow sleep-drove to Yolo Avenue because she is currently in her car not near her home. An insomniac under medicine, Alex races to work bewildered by what happened to her last night. She and her partner Greg Roback soon receive a call to investigate a situation on Yolo Avenue right where she slept last evening. When they arrive, the two cops find murdered attorney William Loefler.

Greg finds Alex's earring on the crime scene floor, thinks it just fell off, and returns it to her. However, other evidence mounts that shows Alex was at the scene of the crime around the time the murder occurred. Alex is shocked because he is a stranger who happened to call her name that afternoon before he was killed. Now she must solve a case in which she is the prime suspect.

RUTHLESS GAME is a strong police procedural starring an intrepid but clearly bewildered heroine, who cannot remember the night before because of a prescription drug. The story line is fast-paced yet builds to an exciting climax by allowing the police to do their job. Readers will want more novels starring Alex, as Danielle Girard knows how to keep the suspense so high the audience never leaves until the book is finished.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner