Dead in Red

[Lesa Holstine]

L.L. Bartlett introduced the fascinating character of Jeff Resnick in Murder On The Mind. Now, in Dead in Red, he and his brother, Richard, track a killer, because Jeff won't be satisfied "until justice was done."
When Jeff was mugged and hit by a baseball bat, he injured his head. Now, he has flashes of a "sixth sense" that reveals pictures of events that have happened, and will occur in the future, related to violence and murder. When Tom Link hires Jeff to tend bar in his tavern, he also asks him to look into the murder of his cousin, Walt. Tom knows Jeff was an insurance investigator, but he doesn't know about his "sixth sense." Jeff's half brother, Richard, does, and he was shot while helping Jeff before. Nevertheless, he pushes himself into Jeff's latest case.

When Jeff hears about Walt's death, he "sees" a red, high-heeled shoe. Time and again, he sees that, but it's the bloody hands he sees that scare him. Walt didn't lead a pretty life, and someone wants to keep it quiet. Suspicion falls on a woman who now owns the bakery near the site where Walt's body was found. She also went to school with Richard. Jeff might be chased and threatened, but he worries more about Richard.

Bartlett's mystery is gripping, and keeps the reader involved. However, she excels at the relationship between Jeff and Richard, two half brothers who didn't know each other well, resent each other at times, and sometimes even act childish in their sibling rivalry. However, Richard cared enough to be there for Jeff after his mugging, offering him a place to live. Jeff resents Richard's wealth, upbringing, and gifts, but he still worries and cares about his brother.

Readers will continue to return to L.L. Bartlett's Jeff Resnick mysteries because he and his "sixth sense" are fascinating. The relationship between the brothers is an added pleasure. Dead in Red succeeds as both an engrossing crime novel, and a story of a complicated relationship.

L.L. Bartlett's website is http://www.llbartlett.com/

Dead in Red by L.L. Bartlett. Five Star Publishing, ©2008. ISBN 978-1-59414-640-4 (hardcover), 263p.