PBW's Book of the Month

I did not get a lot of reading done in September, but I did manage to reread the first two novels in author Anne Frasier's Elise Sandburg series and her newly-released third installment, Pretty Dead, which is also my pick for book of the month.

As the first two books in the series were among my favorite reads of 2014 it was no surprise how much I liked this one. Set in my favorite U.S. city, Savannah, Ga. Pretty Dead continues following Homicide detective Elise and her partner, former FBI profiler David Gould as they try to find a particularly crafty serial killer. As they do, they both have to face people from their past who have done major damage to them, deal with the changes in their relationship on and off the job, and navigate the political tides in the department and city government that are threatening to destroy both their careers.

Besides being beautifully written and tightly plotted, this book was that sort of great read you need on a regular basis to restore your faith in a genre. There are some terrific crime fiction books out there, and this is one of them. I really liked that I never knew what to expect, not even when I finally arrived with Elise and David to the unmasking of the killer and the final chase. The ending made me angry (for the characters) but also made perfect sense. I also love how Anne Frasier keeps all the books connected through her characterizations and artful back story weavings without overburdening the narrative with a lot of flashbacks or as-you-remember-Bob introspects.

Even if you haven't read the first two book (and I feel sorry for you if you haven't) you can easily follow along with this one. You do need to read the other pair, though. Yep. She's that good.

Here's where you can buy your own copy of Pretty Dead:

Barnes & Noble

Amazon