Review: Killing Jane by Stacy Green

Title: Killing Jane by Stacy Green
Erin Prince Series Book One
Publisher: Vesuvian Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery
Length: 340 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

What if everything you’ve ever heard about Jack the Ripper is wrong …

A young woman is brutally murdered in Washington D.C., and the killer leaves behind a calling card connected to some of the most infamous murders in history.

Jack the Ripper

Rookie homicide investigator Erin Prince instinctively knows the moment she sees the mutilated body that it’s only a matter of time before someone else dies.

She and her partner, Todd Beckett, are on the trail of a madman, and a third body sends them in the direction they feared most: a serial killer is walking the streets of D.C.

The clock is ticking.

Erin must push past her mounting self-doubt in order to unravel a web of secrets filled with drugs, pornography, and a decades old family skeleton before the next victim is sacrificed.

The only way to stop a killer is to beat them at their own game.

Review:

Killing Jane, the first book in Stacy Green’s Erin Prince, is a perplexing mystery with somewhat dark and disturbing subject matter.

Rookie homicide detective Erin Prince’s first case as a lead investigator is the particularly brutal and gruesome murder of Bonnie Archer.  As Erin quickly discovers, Bonnie is a well-liked woman in her mid twenties who has managed to turn her life around after years of addiction.  She is enrolled in an adult education program where she is close to getting her GED and volunteers to tutor other students in her spare time.  However, Erin soon learns that Bonnie is involved in some very unsavory things that are a direct reaction from her still unresolved issues from her childhood.  After another grisly murder, Erin and her new partner, Todd Beckett, are under extreme pressure to catch the murderer before he or she kills again.

Although new to homicide, Erin is a veteran police detective who previously worked in sex crimes which makes her so-called “rookie” mistakes during the investigation quite puzzling. She is incredibly insecure and plagued with self-doubt.  From a wealthy and privileged background, Erin relates a little too closely to the people she is questioning and her skewed perspective makes her rather insensitive, impatient and downright antagonistic during interviews.  She is prone to angry outbursts which make her appear  argumentative, unprofessional, childish and overly emotional.  When she calms down, Erin realizes she should have held her tongue and although she is quick to apologize, she NEVER seems learns from her mistakes.

Todd is a seasoned investigator who is nothing like his disagreeable, unsympathetic and unlikable new partner. Although he is patient, methodical and analytical, he does eventually become frustrated with Erin’s propensity to fly off the handle at the least bit of provocation.  Todd is much more open-minded about  possible scenarios for the murders they are investigating and although he has doubts about Erin’s theories, he does not entirely discount her suppositions.

Their investigation yields few viable leads but Erin and Todd diligently follow what little evidence they uncover.  Stonewalled by Bonnie’s family, they nonetheless continue chipping away until they discover the truth about their victim’s past.  They try to be sensitive with her parents but Erin does not hesitate to push them for answers.  After the second vicious killing, Erin and Todd are determined to find the connection between the victims but they both feel like they are going in circles since their investigation quickly stalls.  Will they put together the pieces of the of puzzle and arrest the murderer before it is too late?

Killing Jane  is an intriguing police procedural that fans of the genre will enjoy.  This first outing in the Stacy Green’s Erin Prince series is full of unexpected twists and turns.  Although the case is solved by the novel’s end, the conclusion is ambiguous enough that readers will wonder whether or not the perpetrator will return in future installments.  All in all, a solid start to the series but hopefully the lead protagonist will be a little more likable in the next book.