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Relatively new to the Mobile, Alabama, police force, Carson Ryder is appointed to a very prestigious position as one of two detectives on a new unit, Psychopathological and Sociopathological Investigative Team or PSIT (also referred to as Piss-It). He showed his stuff during a very difficult case by coming up with a completely original interpretation of a crime that no one else had even imagined. What only Carson knows is that the solution came from first-hand knowledge of a psychopath, his brother, who could easily see what the clues meant. PSIT has never been assigned a case, as it is meant to be used only in very specific situations. When a body is found without a head and a cryptic message written on it, Carson and his partner Harry Nautilus feel that PSIT should take charge of the investigation. They are thwarted at every turn by one of the department higher-ups who is looking at his own chances of being promoted and playing politics all along the way. When a second headless body shows up, even he cannot stop PSIT from proceeding. Harry and Carson face many bureaucratic roadblocks in their investigation, but the two of them are an effective team and manage to work through the difficulties. At the same time, Carson is finding himself very attracted to the new forensic pathologist, Dr Ava Davanelle; again, that relationship presents many challenges and difficulties as well. There has been a glut of serial killer-type mysteries written lately, but THE HUNDREDTH MAN has managed to take an approach that feels unique. Carson's brother Jeremy is an extremely unlikable character, but it can't be denied that he has an intimacy in psychotic matters that his brother doesn't. Out of jealousy over Ava, he misleads Carson, to tragic effect. It's unusual to see a detective who needs this kind of help, and it's horrifying to see the price that he has to pay for Jeremy's solutions. THE HUNDREDTH MAN is a first book, and I thought it was very well done until the revelation of the killer. The killer at the conclusion of the book bore very little relationship to the killer earlier in the book. The motivations for that character's behavior didn't seem pressing enough to justify the actions that were taken. The resolution was close to being over the top. That being said, I found the book to be solidly plotted and well-paced. I particularly enjoyed how the partnership between Carson and Harry was portrayed and look forward to meeting these two characters again in future books in this series.
Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, January 2005
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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