Military Bookshelf: Killing Time
Military.com - Tom Miller
Sep 02, 2008
Blood Memory, by Margaret Coel.
Berkley Prime Crime, $24.95 (305p) ISBN 978-0-425-22345-1
Coel, the best-selling author of the Wind River Mystery series, branches out with this uneven stand-alone mystery.
When Catherine McLeod, an investigative reporter for the Denver Journal, is attacked in her town home by a stalker, she wants to believe that the attack was random. That bit of wishful thinking is dashed, however, when her would-be assassin begins sending her taunting text messages: "Say good-bye, Catherine. Your friend, Erik."
Convinced that she has been targeted because of her reporting, Catherine figures that the answer lies somewhere in her current project. She's investigating an apparent end-run around Colorado's ban on new casinos in the state.
Backed by powerful, but anonymous interests, the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes are offering to exchange their claims to 27 million acres of Colorado for a 500-acre plot near the Denver Airport for a casino. McLeod hopes to expose the casino's silent partners, but to do so, she must find a way to stay out of the assassin's cross-hairs.
There's a lot to like here: an inventive plot that examines contemporary Indian affairs within an historical context; an interesting back-story that looks at the nexus between old money—rooted in real estate—and new in the contemporary West; and a brisk pace that keeps the pages turning.
There also are some serious missteps: an improbable assassin; a lineup of stereotypical baddies—topped by a manipulative matriarch and her prodigal son—and some clichéd prose. The Denver skyline is always "shimmering" against the distant mountains; our heroine's nerves are "a jumble of live electric wires," and a "sense of hopelessness" pervades a police station waiting room. Who knew?
The portrait of Erik the assassin that unfolds here almost sinks the entire exercise. This guy is supposed to be a trained, professional killer. But . . . Instead of summarily and anonymously dispatching his unsuspecting target, he decides to improvise: "to have a little fun." To "scare her" and rape her "before he shot her." At this point, I'm beginning to think, This guy ain't Jason Bourne.
Moreover, after the initial attack fails, the would-be assassin taunts his would-be target with text messages. What kind of strategy is that? Whatever you do, don't let her think that you've given up. No, keep reminding her that you're still on the job so she'll be extra careful.
It gets worse. The assassin is careless and lets Catherine spot him. Later, he has her in his sights, but shoots a guy in a van behind her when she suddenly veers off the road. She's driving a convertible; the other guy is in a high-profile service van. He has to be sitting much higher than she is. Yet, a trained, experienced sniper and assassin draws a bead on a woman in a convertible, but shoots a guy in a van. And, in the head. One shot. One kill. Go figure.
I couldn't help but think that if someone ever wants me dead that I hope they hire a guy just like this. I figure that I have a better chance of being struck by lightening.
Unfortunately, the biggest mystery in this tale is why anyone would hire Eric the assassin to kill anything except time. Proceed with caution.
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Copyright 2008 by Tom Miller
A former history professor, Tom Miller is a novelist and essayist. His most recent novel, Freshman Sensation (2007), is available from the publisher at http://www.ccjournal.com/. His reviews and essays have appeared in numerous books, journals, and newspapers, including The Encyclopedia of Southern History, American History Illustrated, the Chicago Tribune, and the Des Moines Register. He also is a former Army Officer and Vietnam Veteran.
