THE FRACTAL MURDERS

A surprising premise and an extraordinary theme equal an accomplished debut. That's simple math, but the geometric concepts that fuel Cohen's book are far more advanced. Former federal prosecutor Pepper Keane is hired by University of Colorado mathematics professor Jayne Smyers to look into the deaths of three colleagues who had nothing in common other than their field of expertise—fractal geometry. An FBI investigation prompted by Smyers found no link among the geographically separate, methodologically different deaths (two of them murders, one ruled a suicide). An appealing maverick, Keane lives in a small mountain town near Boulder with two animal rescue dogs, collects old-time rock 'n' roll and country music tunes and likes to read philosophy. In his dogged effort to connect the three deaths, Keane butts heads with an old FBI nemesis and finds an occasional ally, as well as an unexpected rival. While the killer's identity turns out to be disappointingly ordinary, Cohen's writing style is direct and amazingly lucid, even when handling the concepts and applications of fractal geometry or outlining the tenets of Martin Heidegger. Readers looking for something refreshingly different should be well satisfied. Agent, Sandra Bond. (May 13)

FYI: An earlier version of this novel was published in 2002 by Muddy Gap.