False Witness

November 6, 2017
Early in Grant’s lackluster third novel featuring Det. Cooper Devereaux of the Birmingham, Ala., PD (after 2017’s False Friend), Deborah Holt’s body is found one morning in front of the gates of Hoover cemetery. Deborah, who’s been strangled, is wrapped in a bed sheet and tied with a bow, and it’s her 20th birthday. Devereaux and his partner, Tommy Garretty, investigate, but the crime scene yields few clues. The next morning, a second Birthday Killer victim is dumped on the grounds of a crematorium. Devereaux and Garretty conduct a series of interviews that lead to busboy Billy Flynn. When they arrive at Flynn’s house to question him, the place explodes into flames. Garretty is injured from the blast, and Devereaux rushes inside to save Flynn. When Flynn, their primary suspect, dies at the hospital, they think the case is closed. Then a third body turns up, and they have more work to do. Some readers may find Devereaux’s eye-rolling swagger a bit much, but the main problem is that the story generates little suspense. Agent: Janet Reid, FinePrint Literary Management.