Third Person Singular
A Mars Bahr Mystery
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Set against the black backdrop of a ruthless Minnesota winter, KJ Erickson's debut novel is bursting with masterfully plotted suspense and intricately rendered characters.
Prickly but gifted Minneapolis Special Detective Marshall "Mars" Bahr is a man whose devotion to his eight-year-old son is eclipsed only by his love of the hunt. Mars hasn't won any popularity contests among his fellow officers, but his commitment to his job and his investigative talents have gotten him a plumb assignment: Special Detective in charge of the First Response Unit, reporting directly to the chief.
On a winter morning, when Mars is called to the scene of a homicide near the outskirts of town, his first thought is that a homeless drunk passed out in the wrong place on a freezing cold night. What he finds turns out to be much more menacing, a nightmare case involving a teenage girl from the right side of the tracks.
With few clues and increasing pressure from the mayor on down to apprehend the killer, Mars is forced to turn away from the details of the crime on the bluffs and instead focus on the victim herself. Mary Pat Fitzgerald seemed to have a storybook lifestyle, at least from the outside. With a little digging, however, it becomes clear that appearances can be deceiving. Mars and his partner, Nettie Frisch, turn up some provocative clues in the search to uncover the truth about the young woman's lonely death-- but can they trust them?
Third Person Singular is a multilayered screamer of a debut that will have readers breathlessly awaiting KJ Erickson's next effort.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Moving with great ease and speaking with great authority, this first novel introduces Marshall "Mars" Bahr, a divorced dad struggling to do the right thing for his precocious eight-year-old son, Chris. He's also the detective that Minneapolis calls in on its toughest homicide cases. This time the victim is Mary Pat Fitzgerald, a smart blonde teenager from a good family in the nearby suburb of Edina. She's found stabbed on a deserted path on the Father Hennepin Bluffs, with a bellyful of gin. By all accounts, the girl never drank, and what was she doing so far from home? As Mars digs into her private life, he finds a mother who's a drunk, an abusive father and a best friend who's not talking. In spite of the diligent work of Mars and his quasi-partner, Nettie Frisch, the case stalls. Months later, a completely unexpected break occurs when the Boston murder of another young girl is linked to the Fitzgerald case. Mars is drawn back in, unaware that he is believing exactly what the killer wants him to believe. The writing here is so flawless, the tone so true, that the reader wholeheartedly enters the world of Mars Bahr and others. Well-chosen details about Minneapolis's history and the politics in city hall enhance the setting; a strong, precise style and deftly handled transitions make the book sheer pleasure to read. If there's a weakness, it's the lack of development in Mars's personal life, although he does have a charming and unusual relationship with his son. With any luck, this is the first in a worthy new series.
