Clean Cut - Hardcover

Monsour, Theresa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399149686 ISBN 13: 9780399149689

Publisher: Putnam Adult, 2003

Synopsis

When a young prostitute is brutally murdered in St. Paul, homicide detective Paris Murphy, aided by detective Gabriel Nash, tracks down a serial killer by using herself as a snare. A first novel. 25,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author

An award-winning reporter at the St. Paul Pioneer Press for more than twenty-three years, Theresa Monsour brings her intimate knowledge of the Twin Cities-the press, the cops, the crime, and the politics-to this pitch-perfect novel.

Reviews

Sex, violence, Catholic guilt and sloppy police work mark Monsour's debut thriller, which features a horny female homicide detective in pursuit of a serial killer in St. Paul, Minn. Monsour runs hot and cold with this cop caper; some scenes are chilling, others corny. There is no whodunit here; Monsour identifies the killer early on, leaving only revelations of sick motives ahead. Paris Murphy is the detective, estranged from but still energetically sleeping with her husband and having a torrid affair with the medical examiner as well. Paris and her partner, Gabriel Nash, a fat, 50ish cop who eats liverwurst and Miracle Whip sandwiches, deduce the killer's identity fairly quickly, but they never quite seem to get their act together to bring him in for questioning. Despite having enough evidence to make a district attorney drool, the cops dither and scratch their heads while the killer, who is supposedly ingenious, makes stupid mistakes. They let the killer escape so many times he tires of the pursuit and decides to become the pursuer. Paris and the murderer enjoy taunting each other; it turns out that they're both Catholics who worry about getting to heaven given their respective sins. The novel has little mystery, but there is much graphic, racy action. Monsour seems to be saying that crooks are as dumb as cops. It's an interesting point of view, but in this case it doesn't make for an intellectually engaging psychological drama.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

*Starred Review* Monsour's debut novel stars a female cop heroine who breaks the mold of recent women cop sleuths, almost always predictably tough on the job but vulnerable on the inside. Paris Murphy, a homicide detective with the St. Paul Police Department, has a credibly complicated life (she is separated but still involved with her ex-husband) and a credibly complicated attitude to her work--she is human enough to be shaken by what crime scenes show but able to gut out the work, mainly alone. Monsour gives Murphy one of the most evocative homes a detective can have, a houseboat on the Mississippi. The narrative shuttles between the thoughts and deeds of a serial killer and the efforts of Monsour and her male sidekick to catch him. A married doctor with kids, the killer is expert at maintaining his facade of a normal life and rationalizing his guilt: he gives his victims names like "Miss Accident," "Miss Incident," and "Miss Poor Outcome." As Paris tracks him down, she (somewhat predictably) becomes his next target, but the way Monsour paces this cat-and-mouse game is truly chilling. Monsour's journalistic background (she is a longtime reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press) shows in her realistic depictions of cops, the press, and prostitutes. She also takes full advantage of the quick changes, from high-end to down-and-out, within the Twin Cities. Stunning. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Putnam Adult
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0399149686
• ISBN 13: 9780399149689
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304