A ritualistic serial killer sets this noirish story up in a prologue that details his gruesome methods in a slice by slice rendering of a female corpse into a human facsimile of the armless statue of Venus de Milo. His thoughts are of following the procedure required by his idol Brian, the original Venus de Milo killer, now in a hospital, dying. It's with some relief that author Dennis Manuel then switches the focus to his hero in an afternoon tryst with a detective named Nicole.It's not out of prudishness that I'm less than impressed by a guy who enjoys a woman while being handcuffed to a bed at her insistence -- no matter how beautiful and hard-to-get the lady is who needs it done that way. But that's how the profile on ex-cop Tommy Fallon begins, further identified as the Porsche, Hummer, Jaguar-driving, Laphroig Scotch-drinking CEO and chief specialist of a high security business. Which position gives him the time and the freeedom for such mid-day motel bed positions. To make this kinky proclivity toward immobilization more aggravating, Nicole is on call, and when her phone goes off she's on her feet, dressed and about to run off without unbinding her lover. She has the thoughtfulness, however, to punch in an auto-dial number on his cell phone and lay it on his naked chest before leaving and locking the door. What a gal.He feels the phone ring. Tifa, his trusted and seductive assistant, comes on the line with her British-island accent turned up to high excitement. She's about all hell breaking loose and the need for Tommy to get to the office immediately... until she acquires a complete understanding of her boss's current situation.Twenty minutes later, the copper-skinned assistant is freeing and arousing the CEO while scolding and bringing him up to date about a dead body on the fully alarm-protected estate grounds of Jack Danner, his primary client and one of the richest and most formidable collectors in the art world.A woman's corpse w ith no arms was found by Danner himself in the sculpture garden where the one-of-a-kind Mosler alarm system that Tommy installed had been breached. But how can a system that improves on the White House Rose Garden's and matches nothing less than that which protects the Louvre in Paris not prevent Jack Danner's grounds and art collection from intrusion? And what's the message in dumping a Venus de Milo body there?Tommy can only conclude that either Danner or his manservant Hector had turned the alarm off, though they deny it. Danner--no stranger to secrecy--is, however, scared, and for reasons that go beyond posssible monetary loss or the chilling possibility that he's come to the attention of a serial killer. Is this violation a warning statement from old enemies, or new ones? His art world is not without the threat of dangerously greedy people as evidenced by the ubiquitous underground network of art forgery.To ex-cop Fallon, it's the possible resurgence of a case he couldn 't solve seven years ago. A case of six bodies of beautiful, respectable women with arms surgically removed. A case which, with the help of his dishonest, politically ambitious partner, Officer Frank Lubrani, caused the end of his career as a policeman.But, though Tommy clearly would rather have nothing further to do with it, and let the proper agency deal with it, Danner wants to give him another chance to redeem himself while keeping whatever may be discovered under his own private wraps. The ex-detective resists... until Danner makes a two-part offer his service contractor can't refuse. First, a two million dollar fee. Second, not to announce that Tommy's vaunted security installations aren't dependable--something that would close the alarm expert down. Fallon's over a barrel by a secretive man whom he knows is hiding things but, if he's to hold on to his comfortable life, and if he's ever going to vindicate himself, Tommy's got to do the investigation... beginning in Par is."Why Paris?" "I spent time there." "Who or what am I looking for?" "You'll have to tell me." "Who are your enemies?" "I have so many... If I assume a particular enemy did this, I could be sending you off in the wrong direction."Before Tommy goes he insists on only one thing: that Danner decide on a new alarm code that only he and Danner know. It's an astute precaution, and one that will bring his underground enemies to him--but not without being battered, stabbed and immersed into a swamp of art forgers, ruthless criminals and demented killers. Worse, the new, closely held code will bring both Nicole and Tifa under imminant lethal risk.Manuel has crafted a delectable mystery thriller that moves with propulsive energy and admirable clarity. Moreover, he has carved out an original piece of the crime-setting pie on which to stage his game of cat and mouse--in which his main player is both. Though the law enforcement background of a Joseph Wambaugh novel isn't Manuel's strong suit, his mystery construction tells us that the author knows what he's doing. One of his most original concepts lies in Tifa demonstrating the audacious way in which a captive woman should treat her captor. Kudos for Tifa. Also well observed is the manner in which the rich communicate with those who are in their peripheral interest but below their station.Which shows also that the author knows a thing or two about character and motivation, allowing him to keep the plot spicy and suspensefully boiling. With his hero's taste for liquor, wine, art, the music of Leadbelly, cars and a few other interests that provide personal texture, his special area of expertise is his women, who are fleshed out with distinctive personality. Will we get to know why Nicole needs to handcuff a lover in a sequel?As one reads and approaches the climactic events, it's realized that Tommy is a man of more substance than the superficial playboy of chapter one. It's not until we tune into how far he' s willing to go in the defense of a loved one that we connect to him emotionally, making his dogged pursuit more compelling. My suggestion to the author would be to somehow foreshadow much earlier the staunch decency of his nature.This novel isn't published through the usual channels. Tom Lopilato presents it in the format of an audio book on his NewFiction.com site in a rather brilliantly realized production with a cast of exceptional readers, music, sound effects and changing graphics. With the possible exception of the actor who reads for Tommy Fallon, the voices are perfectly matched to the characters by actors who bring them alive.The problem I had with the Fallon actor is that he immediately comes off as a New York wise guy with attitude, when a less aggressively pushy timbre might achieve a more immediate connection to the hero and to the piece itself. Maybe Christian Slater? Leonardo DiCaprio? But the bottom line is that the production makes an impressive vehicle for Manuel's lively and compelling story.Besides running the audio book online, the written text may be downloaded to email, cell phones and other digital media. Experience it.
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