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Sunday, May 13, 2018

Review of A Bleak Prospect a Sam Jenkins mystery By Wayne Zurl

MR Zurl had me biting my finger nails and cogitating right to the end.
 
 
 
 
An avid reader of fictional crime, I can’t understand why I have just found the remarkably, talented Wayne Zurl's - Sam Jenkins mysteries.
The first thing I really liked about this book, there is no pussyfooting around. MR Zurl plummets right into the story with a murder scene, in in the foothills of the Great Smoky
Mountains. 
By the end of chapter one I was hooked, for two reasons:  
The intrigue of how the story was going to develop, now that Chief of Police -Sam Jenkins and his team, find themselves investigating the murder of a young prostitute. The eighth victim of a serial killer, nicknamed the Riverside Strangler.
The way MR Zurl skilfully described every character, not just physically but their personalities, witticisms and foibles, created lifelike images. Sam, reminded me very much of my favourite British Detectives, Rebus, DCI Banks and Throne. A straight talking guy, who makes it perfectly clear he is not a team player. Even though his unorthodox policing pisses off the powers that be, he always gets a result. Along with his dry sense of humour, I have to confess like the females in the story, I was somewhat smitten by him.
As the story continued with yet another murder, I found myself submerged in the plot. The action, twists and turns, of this bracing page turner, that at times I felt I was actually watching a TV police drama. Which I am also an avid watcher of.
As a rule, even with the great detective authors, I find myself sussing out who the predator is, midway through.  By a medico author, usually chapter three or four. However, MR Zurl had me biting my finger nails and cogitating right to the end. Never in a million years would I have fathomed the killer of the second murder. Or the outcome of Sam’s future as chief, at Prospects Police Department.   
I highly recommend this book to any fictional crime buffs. To the not yet converted, I say grab this book and you will be hooked. 
I can’t wait to get stuck into MR Zurl’s earlier Sam Jenkins mysteries, while anticipating his next book.  
No doubt about it. A well-deserved 5/5
 
A Bleak Prospect
A Sam Jenkins Mystery
A serial killer dubbed The Riverside Strangler by the Knoxville press corps has murdered eight Internet prostitutes in East Tennessee, the most recent found floating in Prospect’s Crystal Creek.
Chief Sam Jenkins joins a task force led by the county’s chief deputy, Ryan Leary, a cop known for his flamboyant police work and questionable methods.
When investigators hit a stone wall in the case, the killer strikes again—or was it a copycat? The type of victim and location follow the Strangler’s pattern, but some details are significantly different.
During the investigation, Leary is charged in a bizarre and seemingly unrelated case of police brutality and relieved of duty. Sam is faced with assuming command of the task force or turning over responsibility to the FBI.
The outcome of the case and subsequent actions taken by the Prospect City Council affect everyone at Sam’s police department and suggest that life there will never be the same.
Buy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



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