Trophy Kill: A Sidney Reed Novel

PI Sidney Reed, the guilt-ridden hero of Norgard’s promising debut and series launch set in Alaska, has led a reclusive existence ever since his wife’s suicide a year earlier. His dire financial straits lead him to accept a case from Elizabeth Landers, who’s worried about her fiancé, Harvey Kashill, following some unusual behavior. On two consecutive Fridays, Harvey left her abruptly after dinner and disappeared for two hours without offering any explanation. When Reed surveils Kahill, however, matters turn violent, and he pursues the theory that Harvey’s actions may be connected with the death of Elizabeth’s husband, Tom, two years earlier. Tom, Harvey, and a third man had been on a hunting trip when Tom was fatally gored by a charging moose, which the others were unable to shoot in time to save him. Norgard does a solid job of making genre conventions feel fresh. A sympathetic lead and nuanced characterizations bode well for future series entries. (BookLife)