About the BookA man in a business suit offers the protection of his umbrella to an unsuspecting woman, and several days later she turns up dead on a river bank, raped and strangled. The terrifying serial killer known in the press as the Rainy Day Killer is now hunting new victims in the city of Glendale ... whenever it rains.
Homicide Lieutenant Hank Donaghue leads the investigation as the killer begins to communicate directly to him through phone calls and grisly packages containing body parts of his victims. Assisted by FBI profiler Ed Griffin, Donaghue and Detective Karen Stainer pursue an elusive predator who leaves no physical evidence behind.
The timing couldn't be worse, however, as Karen Stainer's attention is divided between the investigation and preparations for her upcoming wedding. Distracted and uncertain about her future, Stainer is furious when she learns that the Rainy Day Killer has followed her to Virginia, where the wedding will take place, and that he intends to make her his next victim!
My Review
It's always a treat to read a novel set in an area that I'm familiar with. I've visited the 'Baltimore - Washington, DC - northern Virginia' region several times and Michael J. McCann got it right with his depiction of it. The coastal atmosphere of the Chesapeake Bay. The congested six-lane traffic around the Capitol. The rolling farmland of the landed Southern gentry. I could picture these locations in my mind and see McCann's characters moving through these environments.
But the most prominent aspect of the book's setting is its proximity to our nation's seat of power - both politically and militarily. The first murder victim's body is dumped under a bridge outside of Quantico, home of the U.S. Marine Corps. And as it turns out, all of the players involved in his capture are engaged in some kind of battle for supremacy of their own. Hank, the lead investigator, is gunning for the captain's chair, but an incompetent upstart might yank it out from under him. When the local police department finds out they're dealing with a serial killer, the FBI takes over the collection of evidence, ruffling more than few feathers in the process. When the murderer strikes twice in a two-month span, the case is turned over to a federal Special Ops task force, wresting control away from those originally assigned to the case. Firmly placing the novel in the context of both literal and figurative survival.
Everyone is looking to gain some kind of advantage over an opponent. Careers are made or broken on these high profile investigations. One mistake is all it takes to land at the bottom of the food chain. Some are gunning to catch the killer for the praise and accolades afforded to the victor. While others who work the daily grind with their heads down and their ears open, just want him off the streets and away from any future victims.
Their motives may be mixed, but they're all after the same result. How they get there is another matter entirely. From high end boutiques to abandoned warehouses, the killer leads them on a wild goose chase. He brazenly makes appearances from yuppie supermarkets to shopping malls in the midst of retail decline. He crosses the economic spectrum in search of his next target from suburban apartment complexes to Civil War era farmhouses.
He's elusive. He's smart. And he thinks he's the one in control, no matter where he goes and what adversaries he comes across. He makes it personal. Surveilling his targets. Reaching out to the lead investigators. And so far, he always been able to get away, ready to terrorize yet another town with his brand of brutality and fear. But even the best criminal masterminds make mistakes. And this time he may have gotten a little too close for comfort.
***
The Rainy Day Killer can be purchased at:
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBookstore, Sony, Kobo, Smashwords, Powells, Amazon UK, Amazon CAN, Fishpond AUS, Fishpond NZ
Prices/Formats: $8.99 ebook, $19.99 paperback
Pages: 290
ISBN: 9780987708786
Publisher: Plaid Raccoon Press
Release: August 30, 2013
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About the AuthorMichael J. McCann was born and raised in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. He earned a B.A. (Hons.) in English from Trent University and an M.A. in English from Queen's University. He has worked as an editor and a project and training consultant and manager with the federal government. He is an author of crime fiction and supernatural thrillers. His Donaghue and Stainer Crime Novel series includes Blood Passage, Marcie's Murder, The Fregoli Delusion, and The Rainy Day Killer. He is also the author of the supernatural thriller The Ghost Man and is currently working on another supernatural novel.
Links to connect with Michael:
Web Site
Goodreads
Blog (mystery)
Blog (paranormal)
Blog Tour Site
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