Book Review: The Hundredth Man

Reviewed By: Webspinner - RAM

The Hundredth Man     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Jack Kerley
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Psychological Suspense   Serial Killer   Police Procedural
Series: Detectives Carson Ryder and Harry Nautilus # 1
Dutton; June 2004; 307pp

Harry Nautilus is an experienced homicide detective in Mobile, Alabama with office-politics savvy and a talent for turning phrases. Carson Ryder is his naive rookie partner, recently promoted from street cop as the result of an earlier investigation. Together, they make up the PSIT [Psychopathological and Sociopathological Investigative Team]. When a headless body is found in a local park, Nautilus and Ryder are called on to investigate.

Unfortunately for the team, the police chief is about to retire and office politics are interfering big time with their participation in the investigation.

And that's about all I can say, without giving away far too much of this first novel by Jack Kerley. There are plots and subplots, hints, deceptions, and office politics to consider, and Kerley has done a magnificent job of tying them all together. Throw in a series of headless corpses, department subterfuge, possible corruption, and Carson Ryder with secrets of his own, and you have a superb entry into the list of police procedural/thriller novels that kept me up long past my bedtime. Well done!

Webspinner - RAM

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