Rusch's overly intricate second serial-killer whodunit falls short of the high standard set by his debut, For Edgar
(2005). Illinois State Special Agent Elizabeth Hewitt gets on the trail of a murderer who appears to simultaneously target beautiful women, who are dispatched with a lethal injection, and older men, who are strangled with nylon stockings. That Hewitt's previous lover turned out to be the human monster she had been tracking in an earlier case makes her the object of scorn and ridicule among her colleagues. Hewitt soon finds a link between the victims' times of death and the airing of Chopin nocturnes on a Chicago classical radio station, which happens to be run by a high school flame of hers, Jimmy Bonson. Bonson comes under suspicion, as does Hewitt's current bedmate, Brady Richter. That Hewitt solves the crimes by chance rather than deduction will lessen the appeal for fair-play fans. (Sept.)
