'Killer' crime novel by a killer writerBy Carol Memmott, USA TODAY
FROM USA TODAY
'Killer' crime novel by a killer writer
By Carol Memmott, USA TODAY
Three years ago, a die-hard fan of crime novels handed me April Smith's Be the One.
"Smith is a terrific writer," he said, and I added the book to my skyscraper-high "to read" pile. When Smith's Good Morning, Killer crossed my desk recently, I cracked it open, read it in two days, then brushed the dust off Be the One and read it, too. (Related item:Read an excerpt from Good Morning, Killer.)
Smith tells one heck of a crime story with tightly woven, suspenseful plots and lovable but terribly mixed-up protagonists. These women may fall short in the ability-to-have-a-normal-relationship category, but when it comes to honesty and dedication, they've got the bases covered.
FBI Special Agent Ana Grey is a woman in a man's world, ambiguous about her racial identity (her mother was Mexican), in love with the wrong man and, though not a mother, mindful of the love and respect that children need. In other words, she's in over her head.
The precision with which Smith walks the reader through a rape victim's painful debriefing, as well as her meticulous chronicling of police work and criminal behavior, is tantalizing and smart. Grey's workaday life is an unseemly world of forensic photographers, evil but brilliant seductions, sexual-assault evidence kits and sample collecting. We experience knee-buckling observations. It's clear that the crime is the beginning of the victim's nightmare.
When Juliana Meyer-Murphy is abducted in Santa Monica, Grey takes on the arduous task of tending to the teen's post-traumatic wounds, profiling her abductor and capturing a psycho. Overly influenced by the female genetic blueprint, Grey identifies too strongly with the victim. A fellow agent warns her not to get carried away:
"You don't know anything about this girl."
"But I felt that I did. I knew something. She was an outsider who wanted to belong."
As Grey struggles with her emotions, her relationship with cop Andrew Berringer hits the skids. They're both assigned to the kidnap case, and their personalities and competitive natures clash. But something goes terribly wrong, a fight ensues and Grey shoots him. Her morph from cop to criminal is indicative of the kinks in her personality. Her handling of her post-crime world is calculating and pushes the limits of our sympathy. We love our female protagonists to be tough; we just don't want them to cross over to the dark side.
Smith waits until after the denouement to reveal the meaning behind the book title. It is frightening and telling and lends meaning to the delicate balance between guilt and justice.
©2003 USA Today
This material is copyright by the publisher and is used here for purposes of information on the work of April Smith.