Fuzzy Navel

So last week I was shelving in New Releases and was thrilled to discover that J. A.  ("Joe") Konrath has written another Lt. Jacqueline ("Jack") Daniels mystery!   While I never did get around to going back and checking out the second and third volumes (Rusty Nail and Bloody Mary), I am inclined to go out on a limb and say that Fuzzy Navel is the best one yet.

As always,  Konrath’s Chicago is an extraordinarily violent place and the city’s criminals seemingly quick to attack Lt. Daniels quite, quite personally.   A self-appointed posse who call themselves the Urban Hunting Club set out to rid the city of released former sex offenders.   After three such men are killed all at the same time, Daniels is assigned to the case, whence a rogue member of the UHC starts shooting at the cops who’ve responded to the crime scene.    After much shooting and several dead cops, there is a break in the fighting and just as Jack is about to settle in to be grilled by Internal Affairs, she receives a frantic telephone call from her mother and decides to run home to make sure her Mom is okay.

She’s not.   Daniels’ mother and fiancee are both being held hostage by Alexandra Kork,  a hideously disfigured woman who had been reported dead, when actually she had escaped from the secure psychiatric hospital where she had been confined, following an earlier crime spree for which Jack Daniels had arrested her and which had left her face severely dis-figured.    It’s a long, long night  at the Daniels house, as the Urban Hunting Club have followed Jack home and are shooting up the place from the outside, even as Ms. Kork is creating her own brand of havoc inside the house.  

The novel is very fast-paced and seems to just rocket along.   I read it in a single sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it.   If you’ve read any of Konrath’s previous Jack Daniels books,  you will certainly want to check out Fuzzy Navel right away.   And if you’ve never read Konrath before,  this would be an excellent place to start.   Fuzzy Navel—Highly Recommended.

And finally today,  my sincerest thanks to Jon over at the Ups, Downs and Sometimes Insane World of Freelance Writing  blog who yesterday presented me with three awards.   While I am genuinely honored to receive this,  my regular readers will Not be surprised that I am Not going to pass these along to seven other deserving recipients,  though I really do appreciate it.