The Killing - Uncommon Denominator

by Karen Dionne

When firefighters respond to a suspected meth explosion at a trailer park, they discover a man’s body in a neighboring trailer, unburned but with terrible head wounds. The meth cooker lies in critical condition, and undercover narcotics officer Stephen Holder feels a kinship with the child the man leaves behind.

Then another man’s body is discovered in a shipping container at the Port of Seattle, shot execution-style. For Homicide Detective Sarah Linden, two cases soon become one, and she must unravel a complex web of addiction, greed, and betrayal to reveal a killer.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 5, 2013

About the author

Karen Dionne is the USA Today and #1 internationally bestselling author of The Marsh King’s Daughter and The Wicked Sister, both published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons in the US and in dozens of other languages. Praised by The New York Times Book Review as “subtle, brilliant, and mature,” The Marsh King’s Daughter is soon to be a major motion picture starring Ben Mendelsohn and Daisy Ridley.

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spook-A-Thon: Read a Thriller

I may be a weirdo but I tend to enjoy novelizations of tv shows and movies. If its a show or movie I loved then I just love getting spend more time in that world(I wish someone would write Breaking Bad novelizations).

I loved the show The Killing, it was a smartly written show that took its time letting the story unfold. So when I found this book The Killing: Uncommon Denominator at a library book sale for 50 cents I bought it immediately.

The Killing: Uncommon Denominator tells a multilayered and compulsively read story about a method cooker who blows himself up, another man whose body is discovered in a shipping container and the mystery surrounding another man's connection to these cases.

At times I was scratching my head as to how all these storylines were going to be tied together and wrapped up. But in the end the author Karen Dionne was able to do just that in a believable(in the world of The Killing) way. I haven't looked yet but I'm hoping there are more books in this series because I miss the world of The Killing and I enjoyed returning to it.

[Alana Voth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now that the AMC-now-Netflix series, The Killing, will see its final season come August, my only hope is that detectives Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder will continue to solve cases and battle personal demons in literary Never Never Land. Long live Linden and Holder! I don't know if author, Karen Dionne, plans to write another book, but I intend to ask her: I'll probably beg her to write a series. Mainly, I love these characters. The book itself, Uncommon Denominator, takes place ten months before Linden and Holder come together to solve the Rosie Larsen case. Their paths don't cross in this story. But boy, they sure come close! Dionne has a real "feel" for these characters, and I enjoyed the chance to get inside Linden's head. In particular, I appreciated her thoughts concerning trailer parks and was equally surprised by her empathy for young woman who use rich guys for money. Toward the end of the book, Holder offers up a prayer for single moms. Could we love this man any more, ladies? Aside from featuring two beloved TV characters, Uncommon Denominator offers a well-paced, superbly crafted suspense story that begs the question, what do two genetic scientists and a meth cook have in common? All three are found dead, one in a train yard and the other two in a trailer park. While Linden works with her current partner, Goddard, to solve the murders, Holder remains hunkered down in said trailer park working deep-deep undercover as a runner for a meth dealer. I kept waiting for him to go over the edge and hit meth pipe since we know he did from the TV series. I also kept waiting for him to get laid. One more thing I appreciated about the story was how Dionne so skillfully created the right mood with setting. The snow storm was especially powerful and added to the tension as Linden and Goddard searched for the dead meth cook's missing son. XO.

[Lisa Dilg · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is exactly like watching a bland episode of Law & Order. I love L&O but not enough to read a whole book based on one of the most boring cases where you can see the end coming from the beginning. Also, the lengthy descriptions of benign things, like the snow which went on for pages, were tedious and irrelevant. I wouldn’t have finished this book if it weren’t for book club.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's odd to say that the tv show is better than the book. But if you've ever watched this show, you'd be surprised if it was otherwise.

That being said, for a fan, this is a worthwhile read. It's a prequel of sorts, a story of a case that happened before Linden & Holder partnered up, yet this brought them into proximity.

The writer is Karen Dionne. Don't know her, but from her bio it sounds like she had nothing to do with the show; she's just a respectable writer who presumably got tapped for this project. And her handling of the crime is well done: it's intricate enough to keep you in suspense & keep you moving along.

There are two flaws:
1. Hearing these characters described after watching them in action for 3 seasons, the descriptions fall flat. The actors being so much life to these roles, & Dionne's descriptions don't do that nearly as well.
2. We don't get to know any of the other characters - almost at all.

I don't know if the plan is to do more of these. I would try another one; perhaps it would flesh out some other SPD characters, or give us a juicier bad guy. And for a quick fun read, I'd recommend it to a fellow fan.

But if you haven't yet watched the show, find it first. Otherwise you'll be wondering what all the hype was about.

[Jason Huff · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I loved The Killing, watching all but the last season a few times. This book is...fair. I liked being back with the characters, who were what kept me watching in the first place. The writing is fine, boilerplate, not out of line with most books written to promote a series or keep it moving. The problem with the book is that it doesn't capture the reasons why I watched The Killing and have never been interested in NCIS, Law and Order, etc. The Killing's cases were messy and complicated, with the feeling that you were watching real police work with all its imperfections. This story is simply...too simple. There's no sprawling nature to it. Had it been double the length with many more red herrings and twists, it would have come close to approximating the series. But this is pretty standard stuff. Nevertheless, I'm glad to have it, since this pretty much represents the end of the line...

[Robnrel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A random op shop pick up of a book I did not know existed. Cost $1, looked like a dog had chewed it and it was missing a couple pages (the dog ate them?). I loved the TV Series of The Killing. This book was an original story taking place before what would be Season 1. This played out like a season I would have been glued to. Spending time again with characters I loved was a rare treat. Not sure though what actually happened on pages 81-84 though, but I got the gist.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one seemed more pedestrian. -- a disappointment: I was so impressed by The Marsh King's daughter, so was going back to the author's previous books. But this one wasn't up to the same standard. In particular, the ending just petered out.

[Christine Garver · Rating 4 out of 5]

After watching the 4 seasons of the series per Karen Dionne's suggestion, I then read her prequel. Great capturing of the two characters...as if she could see them just as I have.

[Tony Rampling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Karin Slaughter and Lee Child recommended, complex plot, well written, full of suspense, quite the thriller!!

[Nancy Higgs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read another by this author so I thought I would give this one a try. I liked the character Sarah Linden. I wasn’t crazy about this plot.

[Magdalena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Książka Karen Dionne "Dochodzenie. Na styku", to właściwie prequel serialu telewizyjnego "The Killing". Potraktowałam tę opowieść jako "wypełniacz czasu" przed świętami. Niezbyt obszerna, nieabsorbująca, w sam raz na zajęte przedświąteczne popołudnia.

Akcja powieści toczy się w czasach przedserialowych, zanim Sarah Linden i Stephen Holder rozpoczęli współpracę. On pracuje jako funkcjonariusz wydziału narkotykowego, rozpracowując pod przykrywką środowisko producentów metamfetaminy na osiedlu przyczep na przedmieściach Seattle. Ona jest funkcjonariuszem wydziału zabójstw. Wraz z kolegą badają połączone sprawy morderstw dwóch braci. Ich tropy prowadzą do środowiska, w którym pracuje Holder.

Książka napisana sprawnie, choć zwięźle. Intryga kryminalna ciekawa, rozwiązanie zagadki nie od razu jasne. Jak w każdym niezłym kryminale zaskakujące zwroty akcji, niejednoznaczne postacie, kilka razy autorka wyprowadza nas w pole.

Niewątpliwie lektura wciąga, choć nie jest zbyt rozbudowana. Potraktowałabym ją raczej jako niezły szkic, dobrą wprawkę, a na pewno materiał godny szerszego potraktowania.

[Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the mystery. Interesting to see what Holder and Sarah were doing before becoming partners. Story was well done, characters stayed true to the characters on the show, which I was glad to see. You can read this without having seen the show. Hopefully Ms. Dionne will be allowed to write more stories but the story line may be limited due to the final outcome of the TV show. I would love to see more stories with more interaction between Sarah and Holder.

[Violet Aderes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have took time to read, because I didn’t want to finish this so fast. I don’t have anything negative to say, everything was explained inside. I would totally recommend this book to anyone, who likes ‘light thrillers’. : )

[Kdunbier · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's brain candy. I read it in two days. Its mostly not distractingly badly written. I did want more Holder.

[Becky Peeples · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not enough Holder.

[Nicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy the television show - you'll like the book. Ms. Dionne did a great job capturing the qualities of Holder and Linden.

[sarah morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, solid murder mystery. It was especially fun to read about Linder and Holder before they began working together in the TV series, The Killing.

[Devin Nix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the show. Nice to read the prequel.