Book Review: Murder in Central Park

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Murder in Central Park     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Michael Jahn
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Police Procedural
Series: Bill Donovan # 7
St. Martin's, Mar 2000, $24.95, 352 pp.

Though Manhattan's Central Park seems like a vast oasis in the middle of a concrete jungle, there are sections that few people will ever visit. Captain Bill Donovan, Chief of NYPD's Special Investigations Unit, camps out in the park with a friend who is conducting research on crows. The next morning, Bill sees a crow eating a human corpse slashed several times by a knife. Bill's overnight companion Lauriat is a suspect because he was not with his camping partner at the time death occurred.

Bill and Lauriat heard teenagers nearby, but when Donovan and his men track down the two people, they find it to be the researcher's son and his cyber-stripper girlfriend. Officials believe the victim was killed for spying on the queen of cyber-nudity. Lauriat lies to protect his son, which only muddles the bewildering case further. Bill goes undercover to try to ascertain new leads since he does not truly believe the trio of prime suspects are killers. Bill's hunches have always worked out in the past, but this time his need is more personal than ever before.

Anyone who has not read the Bill Donovan mysteries should try them because the lead character is an everyman doing his best. Bill is a devoted husband, a doting father, a dedicated police officer, and a recovering alcoholic. MURDER IN CENTRAL PARK continues this fifty plus anti-hero's exploits to see that justice is served. The support cast enhances the star quality of Bill by making him seem more vulnerable and human. Respected author Michael Kahn focuses his latest police procedural on one of Bill's most puzzling cases and will send the audience seeking out Mr. Donovan's previous tales.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner

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