A Murder of Promise

Rating:
Summary: BORING
Review: Andrews writes great crime fiction. The many comparisons to George Pelecanos are valid. Each has written about murders in D.C. with a pair of black / white investigators from very different backgrounds at the center of the action, and each ends those novels with an act of imperfect justice that the reader understands but the rest of the world will not know.

Mary Keegan, Pulitzer Prize winning reporter for the Post who is writing a novel about two powerful fathers and their sons, is murdered. Franklin Delano Kearney and Josephus Phelps, two fifty something homicide lieutenants who have worked together twenty plus years and premiered in Andrews' prior "a murder of" novel, start shaking things up. Andrews also treats us to a realistic view of Frank and Jose's personal lives. Frank's relationship with his father Tom, a retired judge whose health is starting to fail and who's not shy about expressing his views about how Washington really works, is a subtle overlay to Mary Keegan's work in progress which is always hanging in the background.

Are the murders connected? Is there a serial killer loose? A third gruesome killing that fits the pattern points to the latter, and things heat up. Two of the three victims used a smallish Internet Service Provider in Maryland run by three pretty weird guys. All of the ISP clients had access to a virtual computer game involving a hunt for the Holy Grail. Hunter Elliot a.k.a. Orion, the computer geek who helped shape the finale of "A Murder of Honor", discovers a sophisticated eavesdropping program on those two victims' computers.

A lot of solid police work spiced with some high tech stuff sets up the end game. The chase scene, unfortunately, is absurd, and when the killer is finally caught, you should see one huge hole still left in the story. Damien Halligan, Mary Keegan's mysterious brother, reappears and hands Frank the missing link, and a second climax unfolds. I give it 4 stars not 5 because it's not quite as tight as "A Murder of Honor", but it's definitely worth putting on your list if you like the genre.

Rating:
Summary: A lot of Promise, but Honor was better
Review: Andrews writes great crime fiction. The many comparisons to George Pelecanos are valid. Each has written about murders in D.C. with a pair of black / white investigators from very different backgrounds at the center of the action, and each ends those novels with an act of imperfect justice that the reader understands but the rest of the world will not know.

Mary Keegan, Pulitzer Prize winning reporter for the Post who is writing a novel about two powerful fathers and their sons, is murdered. Franklin Delano Kearney and Josephus Phelps, two fifty something homicide lieutenants who have worked together twenty plus years and premiered in Andrews' prior "a murder of" novel, start shaking things up. Andrews also treats us to a realistic view of Frank and Jose's personal lives. Frank's relationship with his father Tom, a retired judge whose health is starting to fail and who's not shy about expressing his views about how Washington really works, is a subtle overlay to Mary Keegan's work in progress which is always hanging in the background.

Are the murders connected? Is there a serial killer loose? A third gruesome killing that fits the pattern points to the latter, and things heat up. Two of the three victims used a smallish Internet Service Provider in Maryland run by three pretty weird guys. All of the ISP clients had access to a virtual computer game involving a hunt for the Holy Grail. Hunter Elliot a.k.a. Orion, the computer geek who helped shape the finale of "A Murder of Honor", discovers a sophisticated eavesdropping program on those two victims' computers.

A lot of solid police work spiced with some high tech stuff sets up the end game. The chase scene, unfortunately, is absurd, and when the killer is finally caught, you should see one huge hole still left in the story. Damien Halligan, Mary Keegan's mysterious brother, reappears and hands Frank the missing link, and a second climax unfolds. I give it 4 stars not 5 because it's not quite as tight as "A Murder of Honor", but it's definitely worth putting on your list if you like the genre.

Rating:
Summary: A Captivating Read
Review: As an avid reader of good mystery and police work novels, it escapes me how any reader of A Murder of Promise could find it
"boring." Instead, Robert Andrews has done it again: Written an
intelligent, interesting novel, further developing his two main
characters, whose personal and professional relationship alone
would make the book worthwhile. Andrews has supplied a mixture
of creativity and reality, mixing the Fisher King and Holy Grail
plus very wild computer virtuality with real characters, real
situations, and real knowledge of Washington, physically and
politically. Those with any knowledge of the Washington scene
will find the book particularly absorbing. His State Department
characters, father and son, are certainly credible. In sum, this
is a difficult to put down, fast paced, and intriguing mystery;
and I doubt that many readers will figure out the culprit before
the very end. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A Captivating Read
Review: As an avid reader of good mystery and police work novels, it escapes me how any reader of A Murder of Promise could find it
"boring." Instead, Robert Andrews has done it again: Written an
intelligent, interesting novel, further developing his two main
characters, whose personal and professional relationship alone
would make the book worthwhile. Andrews has supplied a mixture
of creativity and reality, mixing the Fisher King and Holy Grail
plus very wild computer virtuality with real characters, real
situations, and real knowledge of Washington, physically and
politically. Those with any knowledge of the Washington scene
will find the book particularly absorbing. His State Department
characters, father and son, are certainly credible. In sum, this
is a difficult to put down, fast paced, and intriguing mystery;
and I doubt that many readers will figure out the culprit before
the very end. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Fast Paced-Captivating!
Review: My 1st time to read Robert Andrews and don't know what to expect, but the moment I started to read the 1st page, I just got hooked on it! I felt that I step into their world and just follow Frank and Jose as they unravel the mystery and it just get interesting as it goes...

I recommend it...!

Rating:
Summary: Murder of Promise -- Snookered at Wisconsin and M
Review: OK, OK, I confess right up front! This clever boy got snookered "big time" trying to unravel the fundamental whodunit quiz in Robert Andrews' latest murder mystery "A Murder of Promise" (Putnam). It wasn't totally my fault, you see, it's just that the author has apparently perfected his craft beyond reasonable expectations. The last 50 pages accelerate the reader through the narrow historic streets of Georgetown and a rabbit's warren of falling dominos and the sweet fulfillment of a most unexpected conclusion. I was so totally consumed by the story that the Flight Attendant on the airplane I happened to be on was close to slapping me upside my head to get my attention to prepare for landing. In this case, the author won, he sucked me in and beat me, but in the end I won as well from having read this excellent book. This is a darn good yarn!

The second installment of Robert Andrews' immensely satisfying crime-novel series chronicles the exploits of two career-long D.C. detective partners struggling with the ugly reality of a serial killer in the nation's capitol. This is a story where they are murdering more in Washington than the congressional budget. Not that murder of any kind is rare in the District, but this book is rare and remarkable on a number of levels in its own right. Initially the reader is struck with the story's compelling, drag-you-along depiction of the gritty nuts and bolts business of police work. However, somewhere around the second chapter you suddenly realize what in my opinion is the true merit of this outing and that comes in the form of Mr. Andrews' decidedly rare ability to paint extraordinarily rich textures within the characters of the humans involved and the landmark environment they inhabit. As the book is written totally in dialogue, it is extremely easy for the reader to get the very real sense they are somehow personally involved. In fact, at points you almost feel like you're eavesdropping (like you'd stop, please!).

Another of my favorite aspects of this book is Andrews' almost casual, matter-of-fact, inclusion of the little discussed history of some of this town's more prominent landmarks. If you are a son of the District as I am you take great delight in his mention of such places as Jenkin's Hill (a.k.a. Capitol Hill), Gen Washington's provision for the defense of the nation's new capitol in the form of stately Fort McNair, and his striking use of the unique Hains Point sculpture, "The Awakening." I wonder if that's what the artist originally had in mind? Anyway, blend in a healthy splash of D.C.'s ubiquitous political intrigue and he satisfies even the most serious case of Potomac Fever. This story makes ALL the stops! Made this homeboy smile.

All in all Robert Andrews finds a most ingenious way to breathe life into the well-worn whodunit vehicle and adds another "absolutely, must read" to the mystery genre. Well done sir! Well done indeed!

Oh, by the way, my sincere apologies to the character that I was so resolutely convinced was in fact the most hideous, vile, and murderous scoundrel. How was I to know? Nothing personal!

Rating:
Summary: Fulfilling Promise
Review: The promise evoked by Robert Andrews first mystery book, good as it was, is realized even more fully in "A Murder of Promise".
As with his first book, Andrews captures the reader's interest as the book begins and never loses it. Beyond the mystery itself, which unfolds in an intriguing manner and pace, the further development of Detectives Kearney and Phelps both as investigators and as people makes the reading experience more enriching and engaging. I found the depth and breadth of Kearny's style and character not only interesting, but very valuable to the story line in explaining his thought process and actions. Hopefully in the next of this series the author will allow us to spend more time with Jose Phelps as well, getting to know him even better.
The plot is excellent and quite believable, and the sense of place this book creates is even stronger than its predecessor. It also adds depth and meaning to the story line. The dialogue is even more crisp and authentic than Andrews' previous book, which was good indeed.
This is an excellent work of fiction, which goes far beyond the standard police procedural in giving us real characters who act in ways that are human and credible to the reader. Well worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Michael Crichton meets the gritty streets of Washington
Review: This is a good read for the grownups at the beach this summer, although it was an all-nighter for me. Two DC cops investigate murder up and down the social hierarchy of Washington DC.

Michael Crichton comes to mind because the author, Robert Andrews, has the same engaging style and the same kind of professional ability to describe what a large knife can do to the human body. While Crichton is an MD, from the jacket you learn that Andrews was a Green Beret in Vietnam, so I guess both roads led to experience seeing mutilated bodies. Not a gory book, like "American Psycho", just the same kind of technical assessments of things that, for the rest of us, are off the scale of experience.

Beyond the interesting plot and action, with this series of books Andrews demonstrates that he has perfected a prose style that is classically American in its economy of words and cinematic in its descriptions. You will definitely 'see' the scenes unfolding as you read this book. As Mr. Andrews becomes more widely known I can imagine that this and others of his books will reappear as bestsellers. They would make great movies.

The police duo are flesh and blood characters you will remember and I suppose I'll be reading the other book "A Murder of Honor" on my next trip.

A good gift for the adult mystery/detective fan in your life.

Rating:
Summary: tremendous police procedural
Review: When Susan Boukedes is murdered, hardly anyone takes much notice of the "Greek in the Creek" so not surprisingly it ends up as a "Cold Case". However, when renowned Washington Post investigative reporter Mary Keegan is killed, the media latch on because one of their own was violated. The two most experienced homicide detectives in the Washington DC police department, partners for twenty-five years, Franklin Kearney and Josephus Phelps are assigned the investigation.

The press sees the similarities between the two Georgetown homicides especially the severed little finger on both victims so quickly they howl serial killer. Frank and Jose make inquiries into both deaths, however, though the clues between the two cases seem alike, they never quite fit together. Though diligent and professional, Frank and Jose seem to lag behind the killer. Both know that if Mary were as prestigious as Susan was this investigation would also have been a cold case.

A MURDER OF PROMISE is a tremendous police procedural that enables the audience to not only observe modern investigative techniques, but also failed procedures. Readers see two police teams in action with Frank and Jose kicking over every rock including one involving the Deputy Secretary of State to find the culprit; the original team on the "Greek in the Creek" case just went through the motions before closing the case as unsolved. Robert Andrews provides one of the genre's best tales not because of a complicated twisting who-done-it, but because his cast of characters brings alive law enforcement investigation.

Harriet Klausner