Pattern of Wounds by J. Mark Bertrand
Roland March, Houston homicide detective, responds to a call about a stab victim. The victim lies face down, half in a pool, killed by a knife through the heart. Something about the scene strikes March as odd: it mimics a crime scene photo of a case he closed ten years ago. The only difference is the pattern of wounds on this victim. Then another victim shows up with the same wound pattern. A nearby county sheriff connects these two killings, as well as March’s decade-old closed case, with numerous other Texas murders. March must figure out if it’s a crime of passion or a copycat killer or if he arrested the wrong man so many years ago. And if he can thumb his nose at this annoying county sheriff in the process, all the better.
On the occasional evening when not working the case, March returns home to his wife, Charlotte and her new-found faith. He’d rather she open up to him than to these strangers at her church. But he has his own failings to deal with: when the killer targets Charlotte and March flogs himself for his absence.
Bertrand writes crisp, clean prose with spot-on, witty dialogue. He introduces and deals with suspects intelligently, and the plot works out like a well-made Sudoku puzzle. Through the hurting and flawed character of March, Bertrand considers the problems of evil and suffering and a good God. March refuses to believe in a God who would sit back while all this suffering, namely the suffering at the hand of evil people, takes place.
My one quibble: Bertrand takes on our culture’s fascination with serial killers even while introducing the element in his own book. Cheating? Perhaps. But this, too, Bertrand handles with deft in exposing the evil of our world and the pride in March’s heart.
I highly recommend this book as a skillfully written crime novel with excellent character development. It doesn’t hurt that it’s set in December, and with this heat, we could all use a little Christmas in August.
