Backlash

Jack Stryker #2

by Paula Gosling

A person who would kill a cop respects no-one.
A person who would kill a cop would kill anyone.

Four cops, from four precincts, all shot dead. A chaotic wave is erupting through the American police force in Paula Gosling’s second Jack Stryker novel, Backlash.

When a federal investigator appears on the killer’s hit list, the simple answers seem to be disappearing way too fast and time is running out. Are these homicides linked? Or is the killer choosing victims at random? Can the police department computer make any connections that stick?

Detective Lieutenant Jack Stryker is on the case with his partner Agent Dana Marchant, and together they must track a marksman with an uncanny criminal brain and a ruthlessly persistent purpose.

Genres: Mystery

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Paula Gosling is a US born crime writer. She has lived in the UK since the 1960s. Gosling started her writing career as a copy-writer and published her first novel, A Running Duck, in 1974. This won the John Creasey Award for the best first novel of the year and she has also received both the Gold Dagger for Monkey Puzzle in 1985. She is a past Chairman of the Crime Writers' Association.

Her novel A Running Duck, written in 1974 (also published as Fair Game), has been adapted twice into films, once as a Sylvester Stallone vehicle - Cobra and the second time as a film with Cindy Crawford entitled Fair Game.

Reviews

[Katharina Gerlach · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read "Hoodwinked" by the same author and loved the humor in that book, so I bought this one too. Sadly, there is little to no humor in this story (therefore I deduct one star). BUT (and that's a big one, the author managed to keep me guessing till the end. Usually, I already know half way through a mystery "who did it". It comes with being an author myself. This book and its ending surprised me a lot.

Intertwined with the murders, the love story of the couple who have to define their relationship anew was a nice counterpoint to the investigation. Generally, I do not like mysteries that insert too much of the detective's private life, but this worked well. The author kept a nice balance.

There's no graphic bloodshed, making it suitable to younger readers (let's say 14+). All in all, I can recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a nice mystery.