Author: Clyde Phillips
Genre: Mystery, police procedural
Published on: August 13, 2013 by Thomas & Mercer (first edition: March 1, 2000)
Homicide inspector Jane Candiotti's personal life is taking a turn for the better: still single and nearing 40, she's about to set up housekeeping with her partner on the force, Kenny Marks. Her future at the San Francisco Police Department is looking good too, until Skip Lacey, a former cop who's fallen on hard times, turns up dead in a railway yard, his eyes brutally gouged out. The killer's got a big score to settle, as well as a talent for turning up in the strangest places, like the funeral of Jane's father. He also has a sharpshooter's eye and a deadly aim: bent on revenge for a 15-year-old miscarriage of justice, he picks off six more cops, all in Jane's precinct.
In this second outing after the Hitchcockian Fall from Grace, which also starred Candiotti and Marks, Phillips telegraphs the killer's identity early on, but that doesn't keep the suspense from mounting. This gripping police procedural has a wallop of a denouement that will come as a surprise to most readers. The action is well paced, the characters sympathetically drawn, and the love story adds a nice touch without sinking into sentimentality.
The first book in this series left me wowed, so I was eager to find out what’s next for the protagonists. They are Inspector Jane Candiotti of the SFPD, and her partner Kenny Marks. Fall from Grace ended on sort of a bleak note. Jane went through a huge disappointment that almost cost her her life. Now, she and Kenny are closer than ever. Jane’s starting to realize that he’s the man she loves after all.
It’s been almost a year since the events of the previous book. Blindsided starts by introducing the main villain, whose identity is revealed right away: Jacques Carpenter. He’s an ex-con who got released due to good behavior. Now, Jacques intends to exact revenge on those who he feels have messed up his life. His first kill doesn’t make much of an impact. Jane and Kenny all but dismiss it, thinking the victim just pissed someone off. The brutality of the kill leaves a huge impression on them, though.
Soon after, the story temporarily shifts to an incident that seems to have nothing to do with the main plot. Jane and Kenny rush to a shooting at a school, along with several other cops. After Hank Pagano (a veteran Precinct 19 cop) saves the day, he is hailed as a hero. A ceremony is soon organized in Pagano’s honor. Little does anyone know that things are about to get worse. Ozzie, a friend and colleague of Jane’s and Kenny’s, is brutally murdered in an alley. Everyone is shocked when they notice that the MO is almost exactly the same as Jacques’s first kill.
As expected, the Precinct 19 Lieutenant, Benjamin Spielman, orders an investigation to be done. The cops are angry that someone killed one of their own in such a shocking way. Jane is assigned as the lead investigator. Meanwhile, she and Kenny are adjusting to living under the same roof. They’re making their relationship more serious. It’s not that straightforward to guess how things will go. Jane and Kenny could either become inseparable, or damage their relationship. They’ve been partners for several years and still have some issues to work out.
In the wake of another cop’s murder, the SFPD is on high alert. Jane and the rest of Precinct 19 have now lost two of their friends, and they’re furious. Even the Chief of Police himself was threatened. As if this danger wasn’t enough, an officer from Internal Affairs rekindles an old vendetta with Hank Pagano. This affair is unsurprisingly put on the back burner. Jane, Kenny, and their task force are under a lot of pressure to catch the cop killer before he strikes again. Things soon become so dangerous that the SFPD Precinct 19 is put under SWAT guard.
This book really is what one would call a page-turner. Blindsided manages to improve over its predecessor, with escalating danger and a healthy dose of suspense. You’ll bite your nails while trying to anticipate what Jacques Carpenter is going to do next. Although most of the book is outstanding, the ending is sort of a letdown. While thrilling, it’s a one-two punch, if you know what I mean. Also, I’m really not pleased with what the author did with Hank Pagano. That twist came way out of left field.
If those flaws don’t bother you (and even if they do) then you should absolutely treat yourself to this book. It’ll have you on the edge of your seat. Just a final warning before I finish this review: Blindsided would definitely be rated R, maybe even NC-17, in a live-action adaptation. I strongly advise the faint of heart (and those without a strong stomach) to skip Chapter 8. To give you an idea, I’d rather watch the bad guy shoot people in the head than read about what he does in those pages. I wish I’d been given this warning, even though I’m no chicken. We all have our limits, and that chapter exceeds mine.
My rating: ★★★★ 1/2
4.5 stars - A fantastic page-turner!
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