Demolition Angel
   Robert Crais
  2000 Doubleday NY USA
   ISBN: 0385495846


The last bomb Carol Starkey & her partner tried to defuse blew up. He died & she is struggling to pick up the pieces of her life as L.A.'s finest bomb squad technician. Now another bomb has blown up another team member & Starkey is frantic to find this copycat murderer. Trouble is so someone else!

Starkey is one scarred & scared lady. She's scarred from the bomb blast which killed her lover & best friend, Sugar Boudreaux; she's scarred because they forget the most important rule of bomb defusing. Her life is on hold because she can't remember something really important.

She's scared because she doesn't know if she's lost her nerve; she's scared because she's found a clue that makes her realize that the latest bomb is a copycat & she doesn't like where it's leading her. So she clutches her bottles for relief - except there is none - just memories & clues.

Meanwhile, there's a bomber on the loose - actually two. One is a prideful, anal retentive whose way with the tools of his trade is not only distinctive, it's as exquisite as is his sense of timing & deadly intentions. The other bomber is only trying to cover up a simple human foible, except it happens to be within Starkey's province & Starkey is one obstinate investigator.

I've come to immensely enjoy Robert Crais' writing, his characters are well sketched & his stories lope along like a mongrel on the run from the dog catcher - seeking comfort in dark places, snarling at objectionable fortune & grabbing happiness wherever it can be found.

I also enjoy Robert Crais' skill at raising the climax to a deafening roar & a plausible redemption. A lusty, lurid & lethal read! Good stuff!

More from Robert Crais: The Monkey's Raincoat; Stalking the Angel; Lullaby Town; Free Fall; Voodoo River; Sunset Express; Indigo Slam & also reviewed L.A. Requiem.
(02/25/01)
Rebecca