Rusty Nail: A Jacqueline 'Jack' Daniels Mystery

Written by J.A. Konrath

Narrated by Susie Breck and Dick Hill

Lt. Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels of the Chicago Police Department is back, and once again she’s up to her Armani in murder. Someone is sending Jack snuff videos. The victims are people she knows, and they share a common trait—all were involved in one of Jack’s previous cases. With her stalwart partner, Herb, hospitalized and unable to help, Jack follows a trail of death throughout the Midwest, on a collision course with the smartest and deadliest adversary she has ever known.

During the chase, Jack jeopardizes her career, her love life, and her closest friends. She also comes to a startling realization—serial killers have families, and blood runs thick.

Rusty Nail features more of the laugh-out-loud humor and crazy characters that saturated Whiskey Sour and Bloody Mary, without sacrificing the nail-biting thrills. This is Lt. Jack Daniels’ third, and most exciting, adventure yet.

“Konrath creates the perfect blend of pulse-pounding thrills, side-splitting humor.”— David Ellis,author of In the Company of Liars

“Jack Daniels is a detective for the new millennium: sharply witty, deftly wry, and unabashedly cleve." —James Rollins, author of Black Order

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Jul 5, 2006
• ISBN: 9781597106597

J.A. Konrath

Joe Konrath has sold more than two million books in twenty countries. He’s written over thirty novels and over a hundred short stories in the mystery, thriller, horror, and sci-fi genres. He’s twice won the Love is Murder Award for best thriller, and has also won the Derringer Award, and the Ellery Queen Readers Choice Award, and has been nominated for many others including the Anthony, Macavity, and Gumshoe. Konrath edited the collection These Guns for Hire, and his fiction has appeared in dozens of magazines and anthologies including Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, Cemetery Dance, The Strand, Thriller edited by James Patterson, and Wolfsbane & Mistletoe edited by Charlaine Harris (True Blood). He’s considered a pioneer in self-publishing. His blog, A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing, gets several million hits per year, and Konrath has been featured in Forbes, Entertainment Weekly, Newsweek, Playboy, USA Today, Time, Woman's World, the LA Times, and the New York Times among many other periodicals. He also blogs for the Huffington Post. Find out more at www.jakonrath.com.

Reviews for Rusty Nail

[vesper1931 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lt Jack Daniels has received some snuff videos, made worse because she knows the people killed. They were all involved in one of Jack's previous cases. Jack investigates to find out who and why.
An interesting, gruesome and very readable mystery

[mitabird · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

There were so many things that were wrong with Rusty Nail. Once again, the plot was over the top, the villain was ridiculous and the killings excessive to the point of gratuity. I ended up skimming the last 50 pages just to see if my thoughts on who the killer was correct (and it was), but I couldn't have cared less about what happened to any of the characters. Some of the humor was funny, but some of it was forced and inappropriate in light of what was going on in the story. This is a series that I will not continue reading.

[lauren2013_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Rusty Nail
3.5 Stars

In her latest case, Detective Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels begins receiving snuff videos documenting the horrific deaths of several people involved in The Gingerbread Man investigation. As she and her partner follow the clues, Jack soon realizes that they are in pursuit, not of the average psychotic copycat, but a clever and determined killer out for revenge.

***Warning***: The books contains numerous graphic and brutal descriptions of violence and death. As someone who is not at all squeamish, the details are excessive and over the top even for me.

Jack is an exceedingly likable heroine, and her inner musing are very amusing. The gallows humor in her sarcastic banter with Herb and the other characters does not completely balance out the gruesome details, but it does provide some much needed comic relief.

That said, there are moments in this book where Jack behaves in some very unprofessional and even TSTL ways. It is very difficult to accept that a seasoned detective would break protocol and allow a civilian to tag along on an investigation. The explanation that Jack is lonely and in need of friendship just doesn't cut it.

The mystery is where the story truly suffers. To begin with, the identity of the villain is obvious from the moment they are introduced. Considering the unisex name, Holly's insinuating herself into the investigation and the fact that no woman in her right mind would willingly marry Harry McGlade, there is no possible way it could be anyone else.

Dick Hill and Susie Breck's dual narration is an added bonus as they manage to convey the personalities of the various characters so well.

Overall, an exciting and well-paced thriller despite the minor annoyances and I'm looking forward to listening to Dirty Martini in the near future.

[khakimoose-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

pretty gory - compared to the previous stories. sat on the edge of my seat a few times, hard to put down (other than to get a breather from the gore). cannot wait for the next one!!

[miyurose_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

J.A. Konrath is brutal. He can dream up some of the sickest, most twisted things I’ve ever seen in print (maybe a little bit of influence from Albert Fish here?). Yet it’s not overwhelming, tempered by Jack’s competency and sense of humor. These books keep me engaged, and there was a twist at the end of this one that I didn’t see coming until it was upon me.

[bpascoe-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels of the Chicago Police Department is back, and once again she's up to her Armani in murder. Someone is sending Jack snuff videos. The victims are people she knows, and they share a common trait -- each was involved in one of Jack's previous cases. With her stalwart partner hospitalized and unable to help, Jack follows a trail of death throughout the Midwest, on a collision course with the smartest and deadliest adversary she's ever known. During the chase, Jack jeopardizes her career, her love life, and her closest friends. She also comes to a startling realization -- serial killers have families, and blood runs thick.

[carmenmilligan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

J. A. Konrath knows how to write a fast-reading-story! I finished this one as quickly as the other two, and am already looking forward to the next one. What CSI, Criminal Minds and Law & Order: SVU did for gruesome murder mysteries on television, Konrath does on paper. He goes just to the edge with his descriptions and personas, then ties it up nicely with a very satisfying ending. If you love a good mystery that doesn't hold back on the darkest side of killers, wrapped in humor and made personal, this is the series for you.

[gecizzle · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Kork is an interesting nemesis, but Jack Daniels is boring as fuck. I found myself flipping through pages until I came to a bit about Kork or his family. Because, serial killers are fascinating, and cops suck.

2/5 just because the bits of torture porn were definitely worth reading. Other than that, Jack daniels can go fuck herself in her dirty asshole. Because boring is bad, and she should feel bad.

[jimmaclachlan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Another good read & I was a bit surprised considering the reused plot elements, but I enjoyed it. Lots of action & excellent dynamics. I'm looking forward to reading the entire series now.

[phyllisd_5 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Though I read it quickly, I did not enjoy this novel as much as the first two in the series. The killer seemed obvious and I thought that Jack came off looking rather stupid.

[patrickjiv_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Weirdest of the "Jack Daniels" series, was almost more than I could take.

[darrol_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Fairly absurd story. Violence makes Ellis's American Psycho look like a philanthropist; its creativity provides what little fun.

[bookwormteri · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jack Daniels and her partner, Herb, are tracking down a possible copycat for a serial killer they already nabbed. Funny and thrilling at the same time. There were actually moments when I chuckled aloud (and get funny looks for doing so, but oh well). The bad guys are great bad guys, the good guys are wonderful as well. The only bad thing was that I figured out who done it too early in the book. Which just left me a little annoyed as the evidence looked Jack in the face and left her befuddled. I felt like I was watching a horror movie, y'know--"Don't go in there! Run away from the weird noise! Man, you are an idiot!" Oh well, a great read anyway.