Review of ‘Plain Jane: Brunettes Beware’

Posted on July 17, 2016 Updated on July 13, 2016

A killer who specializes in plain women, brunettes in fact, is stalking the city. Police detective Nicole Usher and her partner, Ruben Torres are on the case, but the key to finding the killer is an FBI profiler, recently released from a mental institution. Kent Harbinger’s technique is to put himself fully into the mind of the unsub (unknown subject), determine who his next victim will be, and then catch him in the act. Unfortunately, he’s too late and another woman dies, putting Kent on a downward emotional spiral and Nicole, his former lover, in hot water with her boss and other police colleagues. With 17 kills in two years, the killer seems unstoppable, but Nicole and Kent are determined to put an end to the deadly reign.

Plain Jane: Brunettes Beware by Cristyn West is a riveting story, really good noir fiction. The plotting is superb, and the action is nonstop; even when things seem to slow down, there’s that pulse of tension there, just under the surface.

A nice Saturday night mystery. I received this book as a gift.

I give West four stars for this one.