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Rating: 
Summary: DYNAMIC CAST OF CHARACTERS
Review: In this follow-up to 2001's THIRD PERSON SINGULAR, K.J. Erickson continues to develop her characters: Marshall "Mars" Bahr, a detective assigned to a special unit by the mayor; Nettie, Mars' capable assistant; psychologist friend, Karen Pogue; various members of the police department including the mayor and a young patrolman; and Mars' son, Chris, one of the most delightfully precocious ten year olds I've ever seen in a mystery. This police procedural starts out slowly with the apparent suicide of a Minneapolis businessman. At first the cops don't even suspect that the death is a homicide, and the story builds steam gradually as Mars and Nettie come to understand that the cryptic numbers inked on the dead man's arm match those of other seemingly unrelated victims, all of whom had ancestors connected to the Battle at Gettysburg. It becomes a race against the clock for a team of computer techs to match data to try to prevent further murders. I enjoyed this second installment in a very promising series. Erickson has a dynamite cast of characters to work with, and I can't wait to read book three, THE LAST WITNESS, and the forthcoming ALONE AT NIGHT. ~Lori L. Lake, author of Stepping Out, Different Dress, Gun Shy, Under The Gun, and Ricochet In Time, and reviewer for Midwest Book Review, The Independent Gay Writer, The Gay Read, and Just About Write.
Rating:
Summary: A strong recommendation with some mild reservations
Review: KJ Erickson's first book. THIRD PERSON SINGULAR, was one of my favorite books of the last year. It was nominated for the Barry Award. The strength of the book lies in the superb characterizations and apparently effortless writing. With this, her second book, Ms. Erickson, once again, reveals her prodigious skills.
Mars Bahr, Minneapolis Homicide Detective, is back. When a friend approaches him and asks him to look into the death of a man, an apparent suicide, he discovers the most probable cause of death is murder. A mysterious set of numbers is found on the man's arm. The noose that he hung himself with is made of a very unusual type of cloth not used in this country for decades. Mars and his partner, Nettie Frisch, investigate. As they look into leads, there appears to be a connection to the victims and their ancestor's involvement in the Battle of Gettysburg.
Again, characters are rendered with vital realism. Mars is a sympathetic character quite easy to like. His trials and tribulations are of much interest to the reader. A problem with this book is that, perhaps the author was trying to do too much. The Civil War connection implies a strong agenda Ms. Erickson was trying to follow. I found this aspect of the story to be a bit of a stretch of reality. It also made the plot a bit too unnecessarily complicated. However, Ms. Erickson still manages to do enough right to make this book an above average effort. Ms. Erickson would do well to concentrate on simpler plots and letting her characters shine. Anyway, Ms. Erickson is for real. A strong recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: A strong recommendation with some mild reservations
Review: KJ Erickson's first book. THIRD PERSON SINGULAR, was one of my favorite books of the last year. It was nominated for the Barry Award. The strength of the book lies in the superb characterizations and apparently effortless writing. With this, her second book, Ms. Erickson, once again, reveals her prodigious skills.
Mars Bahr, Minneapolis Homicide Detective, is back. When a friend approaches him and asks him to look into the death of a man, an apparent suicide, he discovers the most probable cause of death is murder. A mysterious set of numbers is found on the man's arm. The noose that he hung himself with is made of a very unusual type of cloth not used in this country for decades. Mars and his partner, Nettie Frisch, investigate. As they look into leads, there appears to be a connection to the victims and their ancestor's involvement in the Battle of Gettysburg.
Again, characters are rendered with vital realism. Mars is a sympathetic character quite easy to like. His trials and tribulations are of much interest to the reader. A problem with this book is that, perhaps the author was trying to do too much. The Civil War connection implies a strong agenda Ms. Erickson was trying to follow. I found this aspect of the story to be a bit of a stretch of reality. It also made the plot a bit too unnecessarily complicated. However, Ms. Erickson still manages to do enough right to make this book an above average effort. Ms. Erickson would do well to concentrate on simpler plots and letting her characters shine. Anyway, Ms. Erickson is for real. A strong recommendation.
Rating: 
Summary: Starts off with a bang, ends up needing to be shot
Review: The case was as obvious as any facing the Minneapolis Police Department. Frank Beck lost his electronics business, has been estranged from most of his family, and suffered from colon cancer. So when his son found him hanging, the official word is suicide. However, the officer on the scene Danny Borg felt strongly that two things seemed out of character. First the noose was poster boy perfect as if Frank was an expert, something no one collaborated. Then there was the weird numbers on his arm that mean nothing, at least to Borg.
First Response Unit Detective Mars Bahr decides to look into Beck's demise. Soon other similar deaths follow. Subsequently Mars learns that the digits left on each victim's arm is tied back to a Civil War regiment whose descendants are marked for murder. With the help of an army of genealogists, Mars tries to uncover the identity of a serial killer.
THE DEAD SURVIVORS is at its best when the story line glimpses into Mars' personal life such especially when he interacts with his son. That enables the audience to look deep inside the hero and see what he is made of. The sleuthing is fun however, several subplots not only fail to return to the prime story line, but also are left dangling. Though not as good as THIRD PERSON SINGULAR, K.J. Erickson provides police procedural readers with a fine entry due to the likable lead character, but is he enough to merit a trip to Mars? Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Police Procedural with warm protagonist
Review: This is a readable book. I liked the main character, but the plot was not cogent enough to engage my long term memory after I finished the book. This book is a good choice if you need a bit of mind candy while slogging through some intricate epic that's dripping in Tolstoyan angst and intricacy. You'll need the contrast in order to keep the plot straight. I fear that the author hit the standard 2nd novel hump. The series has the potential to be an engaging winner. The first novel in the series got good reviews, but unfortunately, I didn't read the first in the series. Don't give up on this author, they show real promise with their characterizations. The book is worth reading if you are one of those people who read four or more books a week, you can polish it off in a few hours, but the plot might not stick.... You WILL remember the protagonist with warmth and even some affection.
Rating:
Summary: Police Procedural with warm protagonist
Review: This is a readable book. I liked the main character, but the plot was not cogent enough to engage my long term memory after I finished the book. This book is a good choice if you need a bit of mind candy while slogging through some intricate epic that's dripping in Tolstoyan angst and intricacy. You'll need the contrast in order to keep the plot straight. I fear that the author hit the standard 2nd novel hump. The series has the potential to be an engaging winner. The first novel in the series got good reviews, but unfortunately, I didn't read the first in the series. Don't give up on this author, they show real promise with their characterizations. The book is worth reading if you are one of those people who read four or more books a week, you can polish it off in a few hours, but the plot might not stick.... You WILL remember the protagonist with warmth and even some affection.
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