Dead Connection
Henry Holt, June 2007
In this electrifying thriller, a rookie detective goes undercover on the internet dating scene to draw out a serial killer targeting single women in Manhattan.
When two young women are murdered on the streets of New York, exactly one year apart, Detective Ellie Hatcher is called up for a special assignment on the homicide task force. The killer has left behind a clue connecting the two cases to FirstDate.com, a popular online dating service, and Flann McIlroy, an eccentric, publicity-seeking homicide detective, is convinced that only Ellie can help him pursue his terrifying theory: Someone is using the lure of the Internet and the promise of love to launch a killing spree against the women of New York City.
To catch the killer, Ellie must enter a high-tech world of stolen identities where no one is who they appear to be. And for her, the investigation quickly becomes personal. She fits the profile of the victims, and she knows firsthand what pursuing a sociopath can do to a cop -- back home in Wichita, Kansas, her own father lost his life trying to catch a notorious serial murderer.
When the FirstDate killer begins to mimic the monster who destroyed her father, Ellie knows the game has become personal for him, too. Both hunter and prey, she must find the killer before he claims his next victim -- who could very well be herself.
Expertly plotted and perfectly paced, Dead Connection catapults Alafair Burke to the front ranks of American thriller writers, and introduces the dynamic Ellie Hatcher to readers eager for a young, fresh heroine in the gritty world of the NYPD.
hardcover | ISBN: 9780805077858 | Publication Date: June 2007
Reviews:
"These are characters I'd follow forever! Dead Connection is a sleek and
utterly riveting thriller that deserves every accolade it is sure to
get."
--Tess Gerritsen
"Alafair Burke delivers a first-rate thriller, as a rookie detective
investigates the dark side of Internet dating while trying to survive
the mean
streets of New York. Absolutely riveting."
--Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of Hide
"Engaging characters, dark subject matter, and a compelling story. Dead
Connection is a suspenseful and entertaining read."
--Kathy Reichs, New York Times bestselling author of Break
No Bones
"Alafair Burke proves her flair for creating compelling characters
and a
tricky plot in Dead Connection.
Fans of detective fiction will enjoy young,
complicated Ellie Hatcher as she willingly, frighteningly, plays
victim, hoping
to trap a killer."
--Perri O'Shaughnessy, New York Times bestselling author of Keeper
of
the Keys
