"212" by Alafair Burke

I’ve read all the books written by Alafair Burke and haven’t been disappointed yet. She’s outdone herself with, “212.” The plot is intriguing and at times I had to ask myself – what does this have to do with anything? But, in the end, all the disparate threads come together and I found myself saying, “Oh, yes!”

The book starts with a young woman calling 9-1-1 to report “shots fired” in a penthouse at 212 on the corner of Lafayette and Kenmare.” She’s terrified, refuses to identify herself and quickly hangs up and runs off into the rainy New York City night. Then the novel switched to the POV of its main character, Ellie Hatcher, an NYPD detective. She and her partner, J.J. Rogan, arrive at the scene of a homicide at the 212 address. A naked man is sprawled on the bed, nude, riddled with bullet holes. The apartment is in disarray and on first glance, it looks like a home invasion gone bad. Before Hatcher and Rogan have a chance to do much detecting, the owner of the apartment, New York mogul Sam Sparks arrives and starts throwing his weight around. He immediately puts Hatcher’s back up and from then on, she believes he’s involved in the crime – somehow.

Next the story switches to Megan Gunther, a pre-med student at NYU. She is being harassed on a anonymous website called Campus Juice were anyone can post anything about anyone. Megan is freaking out because it’s apparent that someone is stalking her. Her parents are naturally concerned and go to the police for help. Unfortunately, there’s nothing they can do. When Megan is murdered, Hatcher catches that case too. Another body turns up, another case for Hatcher and Rogan to juggle.

You know while reading that somehow, all these stories will intersect at the end. I read a lot of mysteries and write them too, and I can almost always figure out “whodunit.” I was pretty sure I knew in “212″ but wasn’t sure because I couldn’t figure out the motivation. In the end, it’s clear but I challenge all you readers out there to figure out the plot before the end. I sure couldn’t.

Alafair Burke is a lawyer, teacher and great writer. She’s the daughter of novelist James Lee Burke and certainly inherited his good writing gene. I love her character, Ellie Hatcher. She’s a complex modern woman with a few demons of her own, a neat boyfriend, a great job and….she lives in New York City. I eagerly await the next installment in the Ellie Hatcher series.

"212" by Alafair Burke