A Cold and Silent Dying

by Eleanor Taylor Bland

Lincoln Prairie Homicide Detective Marti MacAlister does not get along with her new boss. Lieutenant Gail Nicholson disapproves of what she calls Marti's sloppy work habits, and regards her success as... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312326653
• ISBN13: 9780312326654
• Release Date: December 2004
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Great Book

I'm not a mystery reader. I'm a little too impatient to find out what happens. I'm also not very fond of cops. But I immediately embraced this story from beginning to end about a troubled man who, because of his troubled past, has grown to hate women. That bit of anger helps him kill them, especially women who don't have close family to look for them. Unfortunately, he messed up and messed with one who did have family connections, leading to the two police officers who came aboard to stop him. Factor in a troubled veteran, a dog, more homeless people, a politican, and a Robosupervisor (Robocop+Supervisor) and this story makes for great dialogue, strange behavior, and a decent plot. I enjoyed the book.

Excellent police procedural

With a change in administration Lincoln Prairie homicide detective Marti McAllister reports to Lieutenant Gail Nicholson. This situation neither woman likes because the lieutenant wants to be the only African-American in the department and Marti because she put too many years into being a police officer to deal with petty garbage. Lt. Nicholson is recording every move Marti makes waiting until she has enough evidence to fire her. While Marti is coping with the Lieutenant, she and her partner are dealing with a case in which two homeless people were murdered in an abandoned house. A Desert Storm vet was in the house but they don't have enough evidence to arrest him. The lieutenant wants Marti and her partner to forget about trying to get more evidence on the vet because the public cares more about a man who served his country than two homeless people. The case is far from closed because more bodies turn up murdered in the same way the first two victims were. Marti doesn't know it but this perpetrator is known to her and poses a danger to her and those she cares about. The animosity between the two cops feels realistic because Marti's boss is a woman who wants no competition and she knows that her subordinate could take the limelight away from her. The case is solved by good old fashioned detective work with many officers putting in plenty of man hours to catch the perpetrator before he strikes again. Eleanor Taylor Bland is an expert at creating true-to-life characters for readers who like strong independent women will definitely want to read A COLD AND DYING DAY. Harriet Klausner