Harriet Klausner's Review Archive
Londoners are frightened by the serial killing "Manners Killer" who provides reinforced negative lessons in proper public behavior by murdering those individuals who displayed rude conduct. He has murdered a store clerk, a parking lot attendant and even a parent. The common threat is vulgar public behavior.
Southeast London Police Squad Inspector Brant leads the investigation though he agrees with the culprit that boorish manners deserve harsh retaliation. Still it is his job to stop the killer, but unlike his peers, Brant does not allow morality or official procedure to interfere with the investigation. As sociopathic as his prey, Brant is coming to teach the Manners Killer that killing is antisocial behavior; that is when he is not preoccupied writing (make that lifting from peer Porter Nash) a novel he calls CALIBRE,
Shamus Award winner Ken Bruen is at the top of his game with this superb police procedural serial killer that pays pulp homage to Jim "The Killer Inside Me" Thompson and satirical reverence to cops turned author like Joseph Wambaugh. The charm of the tale lies with the way the readers can compare the thought processes of the killer and the inspector with the latter seeming more unhinged than the murderer. Noir readers will appreciate this wild cop and killer thriller while showing deference to Mr. Bruen by seeking Brant's backlist (see VIXEN).