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Open Season

Name: Open Season
Author: Maryann Miller
ISBN: 9781594149153

by Maryann Miller

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Overview

Set against a backdrop of racial tension and deadly force controversy in Dallas, Open Seasonintroduces Sarah Kingsly and Angel Johnson, homicide detectives who are unlikely and unwilling partners. When people start dying in area shopping malls, the detectives find themselves up against a killer who has his own race card to play.

who has his own race card to play. The Dallas Review Board wants Sarah’s badge because she shot a young black boy when the undercover drug operation went bad and her partner was killed. The detectives also wrestle with personal attitudes and feelings about racism and their partnership. They both see the pairing as better PR than policy and Angel’s position is further complicated by her family’s reaction to her working with a white woman.

Their first case, dubbed the Mall Murders, begins with the death of a maintenance worker at one of the Dallas Metroplex shopping malls. A security guard is then killed at another mall. The final murder victim is a young window dresser whose body is left like a mannequin behind the glass of an exclusive boutique at the Galleria Mall. When Angel realizes that the killer is the father of one of her close friends, she turns to Sarah as a to help bring him in. In a standoff at the killer’s house, Angel and Sarah become a team as they attempt to talk Alfred out. The SWAT team has their best snipers in position. The media is there with cameras rolling, hoping for a spectacular ending. But Angel and Sarah have decided that nobody should die in this one.

This is the first book in a series and the second, Stalking Season, will come out November 2012. Each book will have ‘season’ in the title as a series identifier.

Synopsis

Amid racial tensions and the deadly force controversy sweeping the city of Dallas, Homicide detectives Sarah Kingsly and Angel Johnson are unlikely and unwilling partners. They both see the pairing as better PR than policy.

Their first case, dubbed the Mall Murders, begins with the death of a maintenance worker at one of the Metroplex shopping malls. A security guard is then killed at another mall. The final murder victim is a young window dresser whose body is left like a mannequin behind the glass of an exclusive boutique at the Galleria Mall.

About the Author, Maryann Miller

A journalist and author for twenty years, Maryann Miller has amassed credits for columns, feature articles, and short fiction in numerous national and regional publications. She has several non-fiction books in print, including the award winning, Coping With Weapons and Violence In Your School and on Your Streets. In addition to the "Season" mystery series that debuts with Open Season, Miller has a suspense novel, One Small Victory, published as an e-book and in paperback. It was originally published in hardback in 2008. Her young adult novel, Friends Forever, is also available as an e-book and paperback. Play it Again, Sam, a contemporary romance is available as an e-book, and a short story collection, The Wisdom of Ages, is also available as an e-book.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Miller (One Small Victory) spins a tight tale that's a cut above the average police procedural in this first of a new series introducing Dallas police detective Sarah Kingsly. Still reeling from community protests over her accidental shooting of a 14-year-old African-American boy during an undercover drug operation that went awry and left her partner dead, Sarah anxiously awaits the ruling of the Dallas Review Board. Meanwhile, in a PR move, her superiors team her with a new, African-American partner, Angel Johnson. Both women must overcome their mistrust of each other and thorny racial conflicts as they try to solve a series of mall murders, in which three men with drug problems are garroted to death with piano wire by a killer who leaves increasingly frantic messages at the crime scenes. The investigation tests Sarah and Angel in ways both expected and unexpected. Readers will want to see more of these engaging female cops. (Dec.)

Library Journal

Several killings at Dallas shopping malls, dubbed the Mall Murders, are made even more high profile by the killer feeding his point of view to an ambitious TV reporter. The case has been assigned to white homicide detective Sarah Kingsly, who is under fire after recently shooting a young, black drug dealer who had killed her partner. Her new partner is Angel Johnson, a black woman whose family is pressuring her not to work with Sarah. With no clues to point them in any direction, Sarah and Angel doggedly inch toward the killer's identity. The suspense level is jacked up to a fever pitch when political pressure and racial tension adds to the stress of the officers caught in the middle. VERDICT Try this debut mystery by a journalist for its open treatment of current urban problems, clean prose, and realistic depiction of women working together. For readers who enjoy Robin Burcell and fans of police procedurals.