Get Hooked by an Angel

I am a big fan of police procedurals and I have just finished reading a really great one! Angel’s Tip is the latest mystery thriller from Alafair Burke, and it truly is a fast and exciting read. The book is set in New York and features Ellie Hatcher, a tough, “newly promoted” NYPD detective who has been working in the homicide division of the Thirteenth precinct for exactly one week. The book’s action is centered around the murder of Chelsea Hart, a college student from Indiana who was spending her spring break with her two best friends, in New York City. A bit wild and carefree, Chelsea convinced her friends to leave her at a nightclub on the last night of their trip, so that that she could dance and have fun “a little bit longer.” But, the best night of Chelsea’s life turned sour when her murdered body was discovered the next day in East River Park. The plot is complicated and the action moves quickly in this book. Not only do readers’ get to hear Ellie’s point of view, but also they are pushed into the mind of the killer during several parts of the book. The best part of Alafair Burke’s novel is her heroine, Ellie Hatcher. Ellie’s father was a policeman and she has followed in his footsteps in her own career choice. Ellie lives in a world of men, and being attractive and blond has hindered her ability to be taken seriously by her fellow detectives. In this book, Ellie receives a new partner, J. J. Rogan, who as an African American has had to face his own battles within the force. Ellie and J. J.’s developing partnership and uphill battle to learn the “lay of the land” within the NYPD add an extra layer of tension to this already exciting story. Dead Connection is the first novel written by Alafair Burke, that stars Ellie Hatcher. Burke has also written three books in a series with Deputy District Attorney Samantha Kincaid that are set in Portland, OR; the first book in the Samantha Kincaid series is Judgement Calls. If you like Angel’s Tip, try also reading The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen, the first book in Gerritsen’s series starring Detective Jane Rizzolo. The story involves a creepy cerebral serial killer, a charismatic female doctor and a tough female detective set amidst the history and bustle of Boston, MA.