Blitz

The Barnes & Noble ReviewNoir with edge and attitude is is the best way to describe Ken Bruen's engrossing British crime novels, including this one featuring the return of cheerfully brutal and undeniably corrupt Detective Sergeant Brant. There's a new killer in town, and he's targeting cops. This time out, Brant has the help of two characters familiar from Bruen's acclaimed White Trilogy: woman Police Constable Falls, who is slipping into drug addiction, and Chief Inspector Roberts, who is reeling from the recent death of his wife. Joining this notorious trio in the hunt for the crazed killer calling himself Blitz are two newcomers -- an openly gay sergeant whom everyone, except the man himself, expects Brant to bash -- and a favored police constable Brant is determined to see fall from grace.With his distinctive staccato style, Bruen tracks the action from several viewpoints, giving the reader vivid glimpses into the workings of both the police investigation and the chaotically cruel mind of Blitz as he strives to emulate his heroes -- serial killers all. The mayhem starts with the practice killing of a traffic warden, followed by boastful calls to a crime writer that seven "pigs" will die -- including Brant, who is targeted for the most horrific death of all. Blitz is a psychological duel between two men on opposite sides of the law -- men who are more alike that anyone would care to think. Sue Stone