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Detective Nan Vining is still struggling to put her life back together after a vicious attack that happened over a year ago. While she is back on duty, is dating again, and trying to raise her daughter, Vining has not yet recaptured her peace of mind or the mentality she had before the attack. Vining has been investigating TB Mann – the Bad Man – who attacked her and killed several women after stalking them for a period of time. As far as Vining has been able to determine, he has not killed anyone since the attack on her own life. Vining has broken several laws and policy procedures in her private investigation. It would be very difficult for the evidence she has gathered to be admitted in court due to her methods. To make the situation even worse, Vining is currently the only one to believe that the same person did all of the other attacks. This investigation has helped sour her relationship with the rest of the police department. Few of her fellow cops like her and most believe her to be bad luck. When THE DEEPEST CUT opens, Vining has discovered a bloodied shirt in her laundry basket. This shirt appears very similar to the shirt TB Mann wore when he attacked her. While Vining attempts to reassure her daughter that no one has invaded their privacy, Vining is worried about how he gained entry to her home. Her boyfriend and partner, Jim Kissick, is also quite worried and gets the forensic tests on the shirt moved to the top of the list at the crime labs. Before either Kissick or Vining have the chance to do too much worrying, they are called to the scene of a murder. An ex-convict is discovered dead on a construction site owned by a Chinese woman with connections to the Asian crime syndicate both here and in Hong Kong. Vining is not sure of the owner's involvement in this murder, but she knows that it could be the start of a turf war between rival gangs. As Vining conducts her investigation, she continues to see signs that TB Mann is watching her and taunting her. Unfortunately her co-workers, including Kissick, believe the clues Vining sees as being the work of TB Mann are in fact coincidences or merely Vining's imagination. Vining must find a way to solve this murder and catch TB Mann before she is terminated from her job and is sent to a 'rest home' for observation. THE DEEPEST CUT is the third book to feature single mom and police detective Nan Vining. In this book, Vining has begun the healing process in regards to her obsession with TB Mann. While she is be no means 'well balanced' regarding her situation or her near fatal attack, she still attempts to parent her teenage daughter and work on her romantic relationship. Dianne Emley does a good job of balancing these various demands on Vining's time and energy. Vining is still uncertain about a lot of her life and her choices, but she finally has the emotional ability to deal with this issues. Vining's new abilities represent a lot of growth and development for this character. Overall I enjoyed THE DEEPEST CUT. This book does have a couple of minor faults but the pacing of the action and the development of the plot disguises most of them. After having read the first book in the series, it was interesting to see the direction Emley has taken the series and the successful way she resolves the issue of TB Mann. I am curious as to whether Emley chooses to continue this series or whether she decides to create a new protagonist.
Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, February 2009
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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