cover image Alone at Night

Alone at Night

K. J. Erickson. Minotaur Books, $24.95 (260pp) ISBN 978-0-312-31471-2

In Anthony Award finalist Erickson's compelling fourth mystery to feature Marshall""Mars"" Bahr (after 2003's The Last Witness), the former Minneapolis homicide detective has joined""the State of Minnesota's Cold Case Unit."" Bahr and his new partner, Nettie Frisch, begin their first investigation by looking at a series of convenience store murders. They end up focussing on a single case involving a young woman clerk who disappeared in 1987. With Nettie providing computer skills and Mars handling the legwork, they rework the case from multiple angles. Skillfully, the author merges the tale of a small-town police chief coping with an unexpectedly exacting crime and Mars's follow-up. Erickson not only creates substantial individual portraits but credible and moving relationships between Mars and his teenage son Chris and between Mars and Nettie. By the end, Mars has a pretty good understanding of what happened but no proof. Facing a powerful and resourceful foe, he has to decide whether to pursue the killer and endanger himself and others with no guarantee of winning-or drop the case and still leave others in possible jeopardy. Erickson is in command all the way in this taut, suspenseful and cleverly conceived twister.