Immoral

From the Publisher

“In this compelling debut thriller, Freeman turns in a psychologically gripping, virtuoso performance, with a detective who is likely to return. He deftly lays bare the demons lurking in many of us while keeping us tantalized through a series of plot shifts. Highly recommended.”
–Library Journal (starred review)
 
“Immoral is a slick and savvy offering and the best debut mystery in quite some time.”
–BookPage
 
“[Immoral] may very well be one of the best debuts of 2005…a near pitch-perfect first novel that soars with believable characters, crisp dialogue and, for the most part, logical twists and turns...Jonathan Stride literally strides onto the page—flawed, complicated, and very appealing.”
–South Florida Sun-Sentinel
 
“In one of the more thrilling debuts to come along in a while, Freeman takes the reader on a gloriously chilling ride through a world where nothing is as it seems.”–New Mystery Reader magazine
 
“With Stride, Freeman has created a world-weary detective with a strong moral compass and determination. Tightly written with a strong sense of place and character…a compelling read.”
–Dallas Morning News
 
“Immoral is an excellent book, filled with a masterfully complex plot with twists that makes this into a real page-turner. Look for Immoral, and when you find it do not pass by it. Brian Freeman takes suspense writing to another level. You do not want to miss this book.”
–ReviewingTheEvidence.com
 
“[B]e warned. In the manner of the finest thrillers, nothing is as it seems in Freeman’s devilish story of revenge and double-cross.”–Orlando Sentinel
 
"Breathtakingly real and utterly compelling, Immoral dishes up page-turning psychological suspense while treating us lucky readers to some of the most literate and stylish writing you'll find anywhere today."—Jeffery Deaver, author of The Twelfth Card and Garden of Beasts
 
“The writing is tough, muscular and shot through with such a sense of loss, torment, longing, torn innocence that it’s downright Celtic in its sorrow. Just as the reader and Stride figure to have the case wrapped, there’s a sucker punch you never saw coming—and it hurts wonderfully. The novel is reminiscent of Lehane, of such works as Gone Baby Gone, and Sacred, when Lehane was writing this darkest, bruised, compassionate self.  Freeman’s novel is one hell of a read, gut wrenching and moving, exciting and powerful. Any book that makes you want to fly to Vegas gets my bet. Stride on.”—Ken Bruen, author of The Killing of the Tinkers
 
"Who is Brian Freeman? This guy can tell a story. Immoral is a page-turner of the highest caliber. It has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the end."—Michael Connelly, author of The Closers

Library Journal

Detective Jonathan Stride believes that, according to the laws of human nature, most people leave behind a trail. He is hard-pressed, however, to find one in the disappearance of a teenage girl in Duluth, MN. When a second girl goes missing a year later, he carefully builds his case, even without a body. A skillfully drawn courtroom scene ends with the murder of the accused and the apparent resolution of the case. But that's just when things really get complicated: the action shifts to Las Vegas, where the Minnesota menace seems to have relocated. In this compelling debut thriller, Freeman turns in a psychologically gripping, virtuoso performance, with a detective who is likely to return. He deftly lays bare the demons lurking in many of us while keeping us tantalized through a series of plot shifts. Highly recommended. [A BOMC and Literary Guild main selection.-Ed.]-Roland Person, formerly with Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

A first novel that's part police procedural, part courtroom drama-a sort of Law and Order in hardback. Two girls from the same high school go missing within 14 months of each other. Is there a serial killer at work in relatively safe Duluth? Looks that way to the local media, but not to police lieutenant Jonathan Stride. Estimable Stride won't cave to pressure. He sees significant differences in the two cases. Rachel Deese, for instance, has family problems not shared by Kerry McGrath. Stride senses that Rachel's relationship with her stepfeather, Graeme Stoner, is badly out of whack, and soon he has evidence indicating that Stoner has been forcing himself on Rachel. Did she finally threaten to expose him? Did Stoner, a leading banker, a pillar of the community, a man with a privileged position to protect, retaliate desperately? Would the cops, in the fullness of time, discover Rachel's dead body? To Stride, the answer is yes, on all counts. He builds his case; it goes to trial with Stoner indicted for murder, though without benefit of a corpse. The defense denigrates the evidence as merely circumstantial; the prosecution acknowledges what it must. And then, suddenly, shockingly, the trial is interrupted, never to resume. Three years later, Duluth cops get a phone call from authorities in Las Vegas that they always half-expected but that serves only to darken a lingering mystery. Freeman, who works for a law firm, brings his courtroom scenes to life. If he could have done the same for his warmed-over cops, he might have had something special. Book-of-the-Month/Literary Guild main selection; Doubleday Book Club/Mystery Guild alternate selection