Rating: Summary: absolutely outstanding edgy thriller Review: I've read many mysteries over the last 45 years and this is one of the best.SFPD detective,Kate Gillespie has to investigate several murders at once and gets overloaded with work when her partner becomes a suspect in the latest murder,his wife.This is a realistic look at policework when there is political pressure,exhaustion from overload,and many internal conflicts.The tension continues throughtout the story,leaving the reader without sleep!I liked the heroine and the supporting team.The ending is full of suspense and left me wanting to immediately read more about Kate,her favorite guy, family, and Dinko the cat.
Rating: Summary: Here's a good read! Review: Kate Gillespie is a Homicide cop out to clear her partner Sam Scolari of murdering his wife. Read it in one afternoon and couldnt put it down. Nice dialogue, many witty comments from Kate. A light mystery with a minor romance and several characters to keep you interested. Will look for Robin Burchell again.
Rating: Summary: Here's a good read! Review: Kate Gillespie is a Homicide cop out to clear her partner Sam Scolari of murdering his wife. Read it in one afternoon and couldnt put it down. Nice dialogue, many witty comments from Kate. A light mystery with a minor romance and several characters to keep you interested. Will look for Robin Burchell again.
Rating: Summary: A Great Vacation Read Review: Robin Burcell's first attempt at mystery/thriller writing is a good one. This book has a little bit of everything for someone looking for an engaging, fun read. My only criticism is that she leaves some of the story's players hanging at the end. Whatever happened to the "mole" within the department? What were the roles that some of her friends/acquaintances played in the mystery's conclusion? But again, it's a story worth reading, and I look forward to her next effort!
Rating: Summary: A Great Vacation Read Review: Robin Burcell's first attempt at mystery/thriller writing is a good one. This book has a little bit of everything for someone looking for an engaging, fun read. My only criticism is that she leaves some of the story's players hanging at the end. Whatever happened to the "mole" within the department? What were the roles that some of her friends/acquaintances played in the mystery's conclusion? But again, it's a story worth reading, and I look forward to her next effort!
Rating: Summary: A plodding story line with no pizzazz Review: Robin Burcell, a police officer herself for many years, presents EVERY MOVE SHE MAKES, starring SFPD's first female homicide detective, Kate Gillespie. Kate has a lot on her plate. She can't seem to get rid of her jealous ex, an investigator in the DA's office. She's receiving death threats from a local mobster about to go on trial, in which she's to give evidence. She's got a dead John Doe, found in a vacant warehouse freezer with mysterious seeds tucked under a finger ring. The pathologist who performed the autopsy on the stiff is then found dead herself, her throat cut, apparently the next victim of the SoMa Slasher. Her partner, who happens to be the pathologist's husband, is implicated and on the run. Then, to make life just perfect, there's a lot of unrelieved sexual tension between herself and a strong, silent type lieutenant working Internal Affairs.I hope Burcell isn't planning on hanging up her service pistol anytime soon. While this novel represents a 2-star commendable effort, it doesn't stand out in the glut of books of the same genre. Kate, as the Protagonist of the plot, just barely elicits sympathy. (For a brief moment, I almost liked her for the relationship she has with her landlord's orange tabby, Dinky. But, alas, Dinky is briefly mentioned maybe twice, then ignored.) There's no single, clear Antagonist, just several possibles - and none of them exude evil intent. Finally, the disparate elements come together in a nearly incoherent ending that is anticlimactic even for this pedestrian plot. There was no cleverness here - nothing that elicited from me an admiring "Way cool!" I suspect the author plans on making Kate the centerpiece of a continuing series of cop stories, and doesn't want to wear out her character, or get her into the sack with the IA lieutenant, too quickly. Too bad. She's lost me as a fan already.
Rating: Summary: a good mystery debut Review: San Francisco homicide detective Kate Gillespie's plans for spending the weekend with her ex-spouse DA Investigator Reid Bettencourt abruptly end when the department pages her. Instead of being in Napa, she and her partner Sam Scoleri begin a gruesome murder investigation. Apparently the SoMa slasher has struck again. At the same time as the investigation starts, Sam has marital problems that started when his wife, Dr. Patricia Mead-Scoleri, a morgue pathologist, caught him with a clerk. When Patricia does the autopsy, Sam calls in sick as if he needs to avoid his spouse. When Patricia is killed, Sam vanishes into the city's underground. To her shock, Kate realizes the evidence points towards her partner killing his wife, but still she believes he is innocent. Her efforts to solve the mystery are impaired by Reid's selfish antics, by the interference of an Internal Affairs officer, and finally by a mobster she plans to send away for a long time. EVERY MOVE SHE MAKES is an interesting police procedural that takes readers inside the SFPD in a way rarely seen in a novel. Though the new author makes the classic error of debut writers by cramming way to many subplots into the story, the tale still contains a gritty, entertaining feel to it. Kate is a wonderful heroine and the support cast brings San Francisco to life. Robin Burcell demonstrates talent with her insider's looks at a police department and investigation that will impel readers to want more Gillespie tales, only a bit tighter. Harriet Klausner
Rating: Summary: THE EVER SO BUSY KATE Review: The "subtle" romance bothered me the most. Kate is 30-year old woman, yet sounds like a teen age fantacizer when trying to decipher the "meanings" of her strong silent Torrance. The author is a police professional. What police force on earth would assign a male officer to 24/7 bodyguarding of a female officer? I don't just mean surveillance, we're talking about nose-to-nose, never more than an arm's length away body guarding. I don't think so. Her zero batting average understanding him made me seriously question her fitness for her job. That said, I felt I should take notes to keep track of all the plots and subplots. There were so many, I couldn't develop a strong interest in any. However, everything works out in the end, and that I like--nice and tidy. Best character development was the ex-husband--a many sided, semi-villain. He was rather wasted on Kate who dismissed him as "too possessive" and looked no further. Kate does have a certain charming naivete, always thinking "surely, he/she doesn't want to *kill* me" when that is exactly what he/she has in mind. I'm reminded of the character who sails through fire, flood, bombs and devastation--emerging without a hair out of place and a smile on her face. I see from other reviewers Ms. Burcell is up for an Anthony award. I certainly wish her well, but I must conclude the pickings must be slim this past year.
Rating: Summary: THE EVER SO BUSY KATE Review: The "subtle" romance bothered me the most. Kate is 30-year old woman, yet sounds like a teen age fantacizer when trying to decipher the "meanings" of her strong silent Torrance. The author is a police professional. What police force on earth would assign a male officer to 24/7 bodyguarding of a female officer? I don't just mean surveillance, we're talking about nose-to-nose, never more than an arm's length away body guarding. I don't think so. Her zero batting average understanding him made me seriously question her fitness for her job. That said, I felt I should take notes to keep track of all the plots and subplots. There were so many, I couldn't develop a strong interest in any. However, everything works out in the end, and that I like--nice and tidy. Best character development was the ex-husband--a many sided, semi-villain. He was rather wasted on Kate who dismissed him as "too possessive" and looked no further. Kate does have a certain charming naivete, always thinking "surely, he/she doesn't want to *kill* me" when that is exactly what he/she has in mind. I'm reminded of the character who sails through fire, flood, bombs and devastation--emerging without a hair out of place and a smile on her face. I see from other reviewers Ms. Burcell is up for an Anthony award. I certainly wish her well, but I must conclude the pickings must be slim this past year.
Rating: Summary: I stayed up late to finish this one! Review: The killer had been dubbed The SoMa Slasher. He prowled San Francisco, murdering women by slashing their throats. Homicide Inspector Kate Gillespie was picked to cover the case with her partner, a vet named Sam Scolari. But when Sam's wife was murdered (a medical examiner) the evidence pointed to Sam. Sam had disappeared, gone into hiding, occasionally contacting Kate. Internal Affairs put Lieutenant Mike Torrance onto Kate's every move. Not only because of Sam being her AWOL partner, but also because Kate was getting death threats. Someone had tried to make good on those threats several times. Now, throw in some thugs, more killings, stalkings, jealousy, and a lot of detective work, and you have the perfect thriller story to keep you guessing and keep you reading! I stayed up WAY past my bed time to see if I had figured it out correctly and how in the world Kate and Torrance would prove it! Patricia Cornwell has some heavy competition with Robin Burcell!
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