Title: A great character-driven story
Product review: Jess Walter understands something that escapes many thriller writers: Character comes first. This first novel has a gritty and credible plot about a series of murders in Spokane, Wash., but Walter goes beyond the usual cliches of the genre by building his characters carefully and believably. Det. Caroline Mabry is an intriguing, complicated and wholly sympathetic escort into the world that Walters evokes, a dangerous world of prostitutes, johns and seedy bars. Because we care about her, and about her sometimes partner Alan Dupree, we care even more deeply about the case that consumes her. Walter also does an exceptional job of capturing the flavor of Spokane, a mid-sized Northwest city with a super-sized inferiority complex. The plot may invite comparisons to Spokane's real-life serial killer story, but Walter's story veers off in unexpected ways. An assured first effort by a fine writer.
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