Book Review: Good Morning, Killer

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Good Morning, Killer     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
April Smith
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character   Police Procedural   Government Agency   FBI
Series: Ana Grey # 2
Knopf, May 2003, $24.00, 354 pp.

While working the same bank robbery dubbed "Mission Impossible", FBI special agent Ana Gray and Santa Monica Detective Andrew Berringer fell in love. Their relationship has endured past the case but it hits a rocky patch when they work another case together, one when Ana is the lead and Andrew's boss.

Fifteen-year-old Juliana Meyer-Murphy was abducted at a shopping mall and the kidnapper called her parents twice before he let her go. She was raped and tortured but is strong enough to give the police the description of her attacker. Using other evidence they accumulate, Ana is ready to make an arrest but the suspect gets away. Instead the police arrest Ana for attempted murder.

She is off the case and out on bail, hoping that when she comes to trial the jury will believe her plea of self-defense. While on suspension, she keeps up with the kidnapping case from her sources within the department and ends up risking her life and her freedom to be the one to take Juliana's rapist down.

GOOD MORNING, KILLER the sequel to NORTH OF MONTANA is an exciting police procedural that pushes the envelope between victim and perpetrator. April Smith has a smooth, lyrical style of writing and if a crime thriller can be labeled literary, this is the perfect example. The protagonist is someone who lives in a world of gray and it shows in her personal and professional life, which makes her a fascinating character, one the audience would like to understand better.

Harriet Klausner

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