Tangled Web UK Review March 2007
The 50 50 Killer by
Steve Mosby
hbk out April 07
Published by Orion
at £18.99
When a man is found burned to death, it appears to be the work of the 50/50 Killer: a monster
who targets couples, torturing them in a deadly play-off where one may win a chance at
survival. Into the investigation comes new boy Mark Nelson, transferred to the team which is
headed by legendary detective John Mackey (who is also author of a seminal true-crime book
based on his experiences). One of Mackey's officers was an earlier victim of the killer.
When a badly hurt young man is picked up by the police and claims that he has been tortured,
and that his girlfriend is still held captive and will be killed at dawn, the stakes for finding her
and catching the murderer could not climb any higher. The procedure of the investigation is
intelligent and never dull, the pace swift enough to keep the pulse racing. The increasing
unrest amongst the detectives in the face of Mackey's disintegration provides meaty material.
Mosby has established himself as a writer who stretches the genre, his writing and the
particular atmosphere he brings to the story takes this out of the realm of run-of-the-mill serial
killer land into much fresher territory.
(
Cath Staincliffe
author of the popular Sal Kilkenny mysteries and the series creator of TV Blue Murder)
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