Efficient plotting and crisp dialogue mark Monsour's second Paris Murphy thriller, in which what goes around comes around in more ways than one. Set in the Twin Cities of Minnesota and revisiting likable characters introduced in Clean Cut (2003), this disturbing novel focuses on the attractive homicide detective's pursuit of the creepy, drug-addicted Sweet Justice Trip, a serial hit-and-run killer Murphy once knew in high school. Trip was assaulted by Murphy's pals after he asked her to Homecoming, and he blamed her for the attack, later running his tormentors off the road into a lake in his first deadly "accident." Eighteen years later it's time for a reunion, and Trip's still having accidents. Playing the hero, he pretends to help search for Bunny Pederson, a drunk bridesmaid he plowed down and buried in a shallow grave. Murphy recognizes Trip on a newscast and begins to suspect her ex-classmate might be connected to that crime and possibly others. Murphy's working relationship with boss Axel Duncan (think Redford with muscles) heats up, suggesting further developments in the next installment. Monsour's depiction of the harrowing relationship Trip has with his father contrasts neatly with Murphy's organized work and more normal personal life, despite its romantic confusions, making this a satisfying, if not surprising, suspense read. Agent, Esther Newberg at ICM. (May 10) Forecast: Backed by a blurb from John Sandford, this one will appeal to fans who prefer romantic, character-driven thrillers to CSI-methodical police procedurals. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Paris Murphy, of St. Paul Homicide, returns in a mystery as sudsy as her debut (Clean Cut, 2003). It's all about Paris--gorgeous Paris ("long black hair, violet eyes . . . narrow waist but big breasts"), with whom all the opposite sex is so desperately in love that simply counting the ways leaves little room for mystery or suspense. Sure, there are the obligatory murders, but the monster responsible is too color-me-evil to take seriously. His parents christened him Justice Trip; schoolyard bullies tacked on "Sweet" as a form of abuse. Everyone abuses Trip: his loopy dad, a variety of mean-spirited bosses, women in general, and Paris, another schoolmate, in particular--or at least so Trip thinks, concluding that he has no choice but to become a serial killer. Meanwhile, back at the cop shop, the really important stuff is happening. Homicide Commander Axel Duncan joins the ranks of the besotted, forming a quadrangle with Paris's husband and lover. Jack, the husband, and Erik, the lover, are both hunks, of course, and jealous as you please. When she's not keeping the hunks from demolishing each other, Paris finds a free moment to set a trap for Trip--easy prey, after all, since he too, in his own sociopathic way, is crazy about Paris. Stumbles as mystery, though it might work for readers who demand romance at any price. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Forget Florida. Lose L.A. It's Minnesota that's heating up contemporary mysteries. Think William Kent Krueger and John Sandford, both of whom move their novels easily between the Twin Cities and the wild country to the north. Monsour's Cold Blood 0 is almost excessively creepy crawly. In the second outing for St. Paul homicide detective Paris Murphy, the action shuttles between a celebrity-craving killer and Murphy's suspicions that the geek who asked her to a dance in high school could be the killer. This mystery is not long on detective work since the reader follows the itinerant salesman as he commits vehicular homicide on a woman, then joins in the search party for her, dropping one of her severed fingers so he can "find" it and become the center of attention. The reader also follows Detective Murphy's too-pat realization that the guy hanging out at this scene and the next murder scene could be the guy she turned down long ago. This novel's strength is suspense--the "Oh God, no!" kind--as Paris both realizes the guy is a killer and underestimates his willingness to kill her. Cuticle-destroying. --Connie Fletcher Copyright 2004 Booklist

Homicide Detective Paris Murphy is uneasy about the guy who so readily volunteered information regarding a possible murder victim, and it's not just that she knew him when. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.