Deadly Obsessions

“Deadly Obsessions” is book three in the Kensington-Gerard Detective series. The basis for the tale is a real-life crime event that happened in 2009 when a female jogger disappeared in Arizona, although the story is set in New York City.

Detectives Jesse Tate Kensington and Zach Gerard are together again. While a great team professionally, the fact they used to date makes the pairing prickly. Working with Zach again sets off emotions Jesse would prefer left buried. The case opens with a murdered jogger, Carly Hawkins.

Carly’s routine and friendliness to her neighbors make it easy to identify her. Even though she had several stressors in her life including an unemployed husband and a workplace bully, it isn’t easy to pinpoint the murderer. It may not have been personal at all, but simply a copycat killer at work. To make matters worse, a bogus detective with numerous disguises is getting to the witnesses before the actual detectives do.

“Deadly Obsessions” should satisfy fans of the series. The first chapter fleshes out the victim, making her into a sympathetic character as opposed to just a dead lady. For those reading it as a standalone, many references to previous events only confuse the storyline. Editing issues, along with wrong word use, buckle the flow of the tale. There is also a tendency to throw too many red herrings into the plot, which results in a disappointing conclusion. Crime drama devotees should enjoy “Deadly Obsessions.”

 Morgan Stamm