Brilliantly plotted and immensely readable… A stunner.
Fans of character-based, intricate police procedurals will find plenty to like in O’Keefe’s page-turning third installment in the Durr series, featuring NYPD Detective Paddy Durr. Life is at its worst for Durr: Struggling with stage 4 cancer, Mairead is near death. Durr’s old nemesis Dr. Deborah Levine, the department psychiatrist, is out to get him, and she has the power of the corrupt mayor and his sinister wife on her side. When an arson case that killed three people falls in Durr’s hands, he meets reluctant witnesses and bureaucratic hindrances. It’s up to Durr to get the innocent victims justice. The book’s pacing is smooth and the prose elegant, but it’s characterization at which O’Keefe truly excels. All the characters, including major and minor, are sketched with utmost precision and come alive in the reader’s mind. Durr is at a low ebb in his life following Mairead’s stage 4 cancer diagnosis and his ongoing discord with the department psychiatrist makes it even harder to carry on. O’Keefe skillfully shifts the focus away from mystery to Durr’s personal life without losing a beat, adding weight to both Durr and Mairead’s characters. Full of both subtle twists and swift revelations, the narrative is fueled with a hefty dose of tension as Durr continues his investigation into the arson case and separate narrative threads come together as the story advances. O’Keefe’s successful maintenance of the grit and emotions throughout the story is sure to earn him a devoted following.
Burnt to a Crisp: A Detective Paddy Durr Novel: Book 3
By Michael O’Keefe
Pub date June 18, 2021
ISBN 978-1087964089
Price $26.00 (USD) Hardcover, $15.00 Paperback, $7.98 Kindle edition
