Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
Pariah
Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Thomas Zigal
Class/Genre: Mystery Police Procedural
Series: Kurt Muller # 3
Delacorte, Sep 1999, $21.95, 306 pp.
Politically ambitious Ben Smerlas heats up his campaign to remove Kurt Muller from being Aspen's sheriff because he knows that this is a perfect stepping stone to a House seat. A desperate Kurt Muller agrees to do almost anything to abort the politically motivated voter recall. Knowing how close the vote is and encouraged by his attorney, Kurt attends a charity benefit in which society's ladies are bidding on a date with him. Wealthy recluse Nicole Bauer bids ten thousand dollars to gain the evening with Kurt.
Nicole informs Kurt that she is the recipient of death threats that she insists comes from former rock star Rocky Rhodes, who died two decades ago. Nicole was the prime suspect in Rocky's death, but she beat the rap. The next day, Nicole is lying dead at the bottom of the nearby cliff eerily as Rocky did twenty years ago.. In spite of the negative publicity associated with Nicole, Kurt begins to investigate her death. He soon finds a link between Rocky's band and many of the elite of Aspen. However, his new-found knowledge places more than a job in jeopardy as an unknown assailant wants to add the sheriff to the death list.
PARIAH is a very entertaining police procedural that will leave readers feeling a Rocky Mountain high. The story line intermingles Kurt's personal problems with a well- designed investigation that requires the sheriff to work it. A sprinkling of jocularity makes the characters seem more human even as it eases the growing tension. The myriad of suspects all contains viable motives and means as the plot twists and turns with every new discovery. With novels like this one, Thomas Zigel will gain many zealous fans.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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