Until Death by James L. Thane

Following a string of brutal murders, a prominent escort reaches out to Det. Sean Richardson of the Phoenix P.D. advising that the dead men were all clients listed in her recently misplaced “little black book.”  Despite Sean and his partner Maggie’s best efforts, clients continue to die.  Can Sean and Maggie stop the madness before the culprit runs out of names?

James L. Thane’s Sean Richardson books are easy, enjoyable reads.  Having said that, I wouldn’t want you to take that statement the wrong way.  What I mean is that UNTIL DEATH (and its predecessor NO PLACE TO DIE) is a book that I could easily see someone devouring within one or two sittings.  The pacing is excellent and the way in which the story unfolds make it extremely hard to put down (luckily, I have the Kindle app on several devices making finding time to read relatively easy).

While Sean Richardson is definitely the focal point, I’m not sure he would be as strong a character without the balance brought forward from his partner Maggie McClinton.  Both work so well as a team that it’s hard to imagine one without the other.  Their back and forth made certain scenes fly by and at times, had me laughing out loud.

Richardson is an anomaly in the world of crime fiction.  He’s a likable detective, free of vices like alcohol or drugs and is both caring and compassionate when it comes to his work.  While he is miserable having recently lost his wife, he doesn’t spend all of his free time pining over her.  Sean’s memories of Julie have a way of weaving their way into the story naturally, creating a great deal of empathy on the part of the reader.  Like Matt Scudder, Richardson seems like the kind of level headed detective I’d want on the case.

Jim is currently hard at work on the next Richardson story (as well as a stand alone crime novel) and you can bet I’m looking forward to visiting Phoenix again.

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Check out my recent interview with James!