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Author: Same Reaves

Publisher: Carroll & Graf

ISBN: 0-7867-1812-9

Sam Reaves, the author of the Cooper MacLeish Mystery series and also the author of the thriller, Lying, Crying, Dying, written under the name of Dominic Martell, has now produced Homicide 69. One of his five novels written under his own name, Sam Reaves. He currently lives in Evanston, Illinois.

What could have been an ordinary murder for homicide detective, Mike Dooley, turns out to be a far more significant killing. It is that of the death of a young woman, a former Playboy Bunny, her body thrown into a mass of tangled weeds. Hair matted and body battered and bruised, it seems the poor girl is the latest victim of torture-murder but soon it has Dooley wondering if the killing could have been committed in jealousy?

Gathering as many facts and as much evidence as possible, Dooley sets out on a mission to find the killer and bring him to justice.

He meets up with a homeless drunk Ernest McGill who offers Dooley some sort of hope but who really knows more then they’re letting on?

 Mike Dooley ends up chatting to one of the dead girl’s old friends called Laura Lindbloom. Eventually it becomes apparent that Laura knew the former bunny through working together at the club. Laura has her suspicions about who the culprit could be but as more unfolds, Dooley is led deeper into the crime.

At home family problems are never far from the surface as Dooley’s son, Kevin, is away fighting in Vietnam. This leaves the family yearning for his safe return but with fairly frequent letters from Kevin, spirits are kept high. Spirits are even higher when Kevin writes to the family one day and announces he’s coming home but with so many soldiers being killed out there Dooley has to remain realistic. Some never make the safe return home. Frank, Dooley’s other son, is angry and going through a hard time of his own. He feels he has become second best to his father, because Kevin is a solider fighting in the war and the one who is making his Dad proud.

Work provides an escape from family problems for Dooley. Especially an escape from Frank’s adolescent behaviour.

As more leads to the murder are unfolded, Dooley begins to have feelings for one of the witnesses but with a wife at home and kids to look after, is it wise to get entangled in an affair?

A great crime book. Unlike many of this genre, this read is something different. It isn’t just about one detective solving a crime but also his family life, his own feelings and his needs and desires. This is a character that I find very believable. In fact all of the characters we meet in this novel are colourful, vivid and realistic. Each has their own opinions and each their own emotions.

I think that this story has taken a different approach to the usual stuff. It is written in an

excellent way and in a way that enthrals you to the end. It’s a very involved read unlike so many of its genre that sometimes you can find dull and boring. It’s not easy to guess who the killer is but it’s a brilliant read.

And although it’s quite a big novel, it couldn’t fail to impress me. I think Sam Reaves has a great writing career ahead of him for many years to come.

The above review was contributed by: Jessica Roberts: Jessica has been a book reviewer for a newspaper and a national women's magazine and is working on a novel.