Powers of Arrest

By Jon Talton

Cincinnati homicide Detective Will Borders now walks with a cane and lives alone with constant discomfort. He’s lucky to be alive. He’s lucky to have a job, as public information officer for the department. But when a star cop is brutally murdered, he’s assigned to find her killer. The crime bears a chilling similarity to killings on the peaceful college campus nearby, where his friend Cheryl Beth Wilson is teaching nursing. The two young victims were her students. Most homicides are routine, the suspects readily apparent. These are definitely not. Once again, this unlikely pair teams up to pursue a sadistic predator before he kills again. But finding him will mean uncovering some of the darkest secrets in a Midwestern metropolis where change is slow, tradition and history lay as thick as the summer humidity, and lethal danger can hide in the most respected places.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
• Release date: May 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781615953981

Jon Talton

Jon Talton is a fourth-generation Arizonan who grew up in the same neighbourhood that Mapstone calls home. He is the author of nine novels, including the Mapstone mysteries, The Pain Nurse and Deadline Man.

Reviews for Powers of Arrest

[cbl_tn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Cincinnati Detective Will Borders has been on desk duty since he returned to work after having a tumor removed from his spine. When the department is under pressure to solve a high profile case involving a female police officer, Borders is placed in charge of the investigation because of his clearance record during his time in homicide. Meanwhile, nurse Cheryl Beth Wilson, now an adjunct nursing professor at Miami University in Oxford, is pulled into the investigation of a double murder of some coeds. Both victims as well as the prime suspect were in Cheryl Beth's class. When it appears that the Oxford murders and the Cincinnati murder are connected, Cheryl Beth and Will are soon reunited, having met in a previous case. Something had sparked between Will and Cheryl Beth in their earlier meeting, and it doesn't take long for the pair to become more than friends.I was drawn to this book by the Cincinnati setting. I'm a little familiar with the city since I travel through the area regularly. The book includes plenty of local color with its references to neighborhoods such as Over-the-Rhine and Price Hill and local chains like Skyline Chili and Graeter's. I also enjoyed the musical aspect of the book. Will is a season ticket holder for the symphony, and his investigations bring him into contact with musicians. I have a fairly low tolerance for profanity and explicit sex, and this was the only real downside of the book for me.This review is based on an electronic advanced reading copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.