An intricate mystery --- looking forward to more Mars | The Last Witness: A Mystery

Best Effort | The Last Witness: A Mystery | Kj Erickson

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	• The Last Witness: A Mystery Kj Erickson St. Martin's Minotaur, 2003 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 9 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A Nail-Biter and a Real Page Turner!

In this third novel in the Marshall "Mars" Bahr series, author K.J. Erickson has delivered a terrific plot, engaging characters, and a nail-biter finish that comes out of left field. Mars is in his final days as the lead detective assigned to a special unit created by the previous police chief. Because of a regime change in the department, Mars and his intelligent assistant Nettie are happy to be moving to the Cold Case Unit at the State's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. But one last murder intervenes.

The wife of flashy basketball star, Tayron "T-Jack" Jackman has been viciously murdered in her home. Mars intuitively knows that Jackman must be responsible for Terri DuCain Jackman's death. He very quickly learns that T-Jack was obsessively controlling and brutal toward his wife, beating her regularly. Unfortunately, at the time of the murder, the cocky ball player was with Terri's wealthy parents wrapping up a one hundred million dollar deal in which he would divorce Terri and walk away. Not only does he get the hundred mil, but upon his wife's death, he also gets the five-year-old daughter whom he doesn't ever plan to let Terri's stricken parents see.

Everyone involved in the investigation believes Jackman arranged to kill his wife, but proving it is another matter. It doesn't help that the new chief of police is a nincompoop or that Mars is soon struggling with departmental politics of the worse kind. Dead bodies start surfacing, and simultaneously, issues with Mars' ex-wife and son, Chris, crop up and cause a very harried Mars to sweat the impending deadline to close the case.

With Erickson's dynamite cast of characters and an engrossing plot that won't quit, this book is a real page-turner. Erickson has herself a wonderful new franchise that could go on a long time in much the same way that John Sandford's Lucas Davenport series has. I can't wait to read the fourth book in the series, ALONE AT NIGHT. ~Lori L. Lake, author of lesbian fiction and freelance reviewer for Midwest Book Review, Golden Crown Literary Society's "The Crown," The Independent Gay Writer, and Just About Write.com.

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An intricate mystery --- looking forward to more Mars

In the genre of police procedurals many writers have attached themselves to one detective whose career provides the basis for a continuing series of novels. Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, Ed McBain's Steve Carella, Stuart Kaminsky's Abe Lieberman, and Robert Parker's Spenser are current examples of detectives who never seem to age and whose careers are limited only by the imagination of their creators. These detectives share many traits. They are admired and respected iconoclasts, driven by a sense of justice that is coupled with integrity. Quite simply, they are characters that have earned the respect and admiration of their readers. Their authors have created protagonists that we care about.

Minneapolis police detective Marshall "Mars" Bahr has the potential to join the detectives previously mentioned. He makes his third appearance in KJ Erickson's THE LAST WITNESS, a mystery that demonstrates that Bahr has the potential for a long-running career and many future appearances in Erickson's novels. Mars Bahr is on the final days of his assignment as a Minneapolis homicide detective. He will soon be transferred into a new division assigned to solve "cold" murder cases. But before the transfer, Mars is left with one final case, the type of case that both fictional and actual detectives dream about --- the big celebrity homicide.

Bahr is a rugged individualist detective with admirable and unique qualities. Recently divorced, he is devoted to his eleven-year-old son Chris. Unlike most non-custodial parents, but like most rugged individualist detectives, Mars willingly pays large amounts of child support and provides for all of Chris' extracurricular needs. The relationship between Mars and his son faces several tests during the course of THE LAST WITNESS. How Mars confronts these challenges establishes him as an outstanding father in addition to being an accomplished detective.

Tayron "T-Jack" Jackman is the star point guard of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He is also the prime suspect in the murder of his wife. THE LAST WITNESS is not really a mystery in the sense of determining who killed Terri DuCain Jackman; Bahr has no doubt that T-Jack is the killer. The mystery is how he was able to murder his wife when he appears to have a rock solid alibi, one that is even supported by his wife's parents. At the time of Terri's death, T-Jack was with his wife's parents and her attorney hashing out the final details of a divorce settlement. It was to be a lucrative settlement, large enough to eliminate a motive for murder.

Working against a time limit created by his transfer, Mars is relentless in pursuing each lead. Along with his partner, Nettie Frisch, it is obvious that Mars will not stop until justice is done for Terri Jackman and her family. Each twist in the investigation and each new discovery keep the pages of this intricate mystery turning at a rapid rate. Erickson keeps the reader guessing, but in Mars Bahr's new assignment is with a newly created state agency that will investigate old, unsolved homicides. It is the perfect job for a detective of his inimitable talents. It is equally ideal for a writer of KJ Erickson's ability. We can look forward to many more Mars Bahr investigations.

--- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman

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Best Effort

This is author Erickson's best effort, and it is a very
rewarding book to read.
Her earlier efforts were good, but in this story, she really
expands her characters, and she establishs depths that are first-rate.
The story is that the wife of a very nasty, abusive, egocentric
pro athlete is killed at home, just as her family and husband,
with lawyers, are finalizing their divorce settlement. Everyone, from her family, to the public, onto the police, believe the athlete-husband was responsible for her horrible
death, but he seems to have an iron-clad alibi, and the police
even reach dead-ends (in more ways than one) when trying to work
out how the guy would have arranged the murder by other persons.
The story is compelling, with much tension and mystery, as it
moves forward, and the police, especially Mars and his partner,
are straining to solve the killing within a tight time frame.
Mars and his partner are moving from the city PD to another
agency within days, and the new police chief is fumbling around,
interfering with their investigation because of his own personal
agenda, and his old friend, the Mayor, is willing to stand by
and let the investigtion falter so she can make her own political game work. The reader can feel the frustration of these capable police investigators as they keep following leads
that aren't solving the crime, as they try to re-think how it
could have happened, all the while the clock is running out
against them.
The author does an exceptional job of building the supsense,
while pitting that against the shrinking time factor, and most
readers will really enjoy the unfolding of the mystery; the
solution will surprise many, and it will unfold in such a way
that most readers will genuinely have a difficult time putting
the book down after starting the final revelations.
This author's ability takes a giant step forward with this effort. We can only hope for similar, future efforts.

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Slam Dunk!

I've found a new author. This novel is by far one of the best page turners I've read in a while. It was so hard to put down. Mars has joined my list of favorite detectives. Loved his relationship with his son. He's a top-notch detective, along with his cohorts. The story was so compelling and wonderfully written. I'll definitely be reading Ms Erickson's previous novels featuring Mars. Police procedurals have always been my favorite, and this one is tops. I thoroughly enjoyed.

WOW

K.J. Erickson's books just keep getting better and better. I absolutely couldn't put this one down! The plot and characters grab you from the very first page.

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Sixty years after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and FDR's Order 9066 incarcerating over 110,000 Americans of Japanese descent (two thirds of them American citizens) one question remains unresolved: Could it happen again? To the writers in this book--novelists, memoirists, activists, scholars, students, professionals--the WWII internment of Japanese Americans in the detention camps of the West is an unfinished chapter of American history. Former internees and their children join with others in challenging readers to construct a better future by confronting the past. A fresh look at a compelling story, told by some of the people who lived it, that continues to tarnish the American dream.

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