THE MAN IN THE CROOKED HAT - Harry Dolan
G.P. Putnam's Sons - Hardcover
ISBN-13: 978-0-39915-797-4
December 2017
Mystery

Detroit, Michigan - Present day

Police detective Jack Pellum is on a medical leave of absence following the unsolved murder of his wife, Olivia, nearly two years ago, and now his only obsession is finding the killer, who wears a fedora.

Now on a medical leave of absence from the job, Jack spends his days putting up posters and searching for clues. His ex-partner and friend, Carl Dumisani feeds him unauthorized bits of information, and tonight one of these clues hits pay dirt. A writer, Daniel Cavanaugh killed himself inside his apartment, leaving a cryptic note about a killer who wears a hat. Jack knows in his gut that he's on the right track, that this same man killed Olivia. Carl warns Jack to give it up and let the other police detectives do their job, but Jack can no more do that than he can stop breathing. He can't go back to the police force, all he wants to do is search for Olivia's killer, not concentrate on the job at hand. Thanks to his father, a powerful federal judge, Jack has his P.I. license, a place to live, and a psychologist to speak to, along with pocket money so he can buy groceries and spend his days searching for Olivia's killer.

And, finally, comes the day where everything changes. A young woman, Kim Weaver, thinks her husband is cheating on her and she wants to hire Jack to prove it. As she and Jack get to talking they slowly form a light friendship that leads to passionate sex in Jack's apartment. Then, Jack receives an email from a man named Paul Rook, who is a friend of Daniel Cavanaugh. Paul tells Jack that he believes a man wearing a fedora killed his mother in cold blood. A search through Daniel Cavanaugh's apartment leads Jack, Paul and Kim into a dangerous game of cat and mouse between a serial killer and his long list of victims, both past and present. And on this list is Olivia, who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when she came across the deadly man who wears a fedora.

THE MAN IN THE CROOKED HAT is one of the best mystery-thrillers I have read! Filled with twists and turns in a calculated road to murder and danger, this novel will keep the reader guessing and reading far into the night. The characters are a dynamic mix of good and evil and lead to a complex detailing of circumstances that brings Jack and his friends into the clutches of THE MAN IN THE CROOKED HAT. Don't miss this book!

Diana Risso