First
Sentence: It was snowing heavily when they rolled the
girl off the back of the pickup onto the freeway.
Driving in a blizzard is always hazardous, but Rushmore McKenzie
and his partner Nina didn’t expect to have a naked,
bound woman dumped out of a pickup in front of their car.
Although he rescues her, it does result in a massive pile-up.
Taken to the hospital, the woman is suffering from amnesia
and given the sobriquet of “unidentified woman #15”
by the police. McKenzie’s former partner and friend
ask for help identifying her. When she steals money and five
guns from him, it’s clear she may not be such a victim
after all.
Housewright
has a style that captures you from the start. His descriptions
put you on the scene and in the middle of the action. His
voice and expressions are a perfect reflection of an ex-cop.
However, one also can appreciate his quoting Sherlock Holmes.
Housewright creates a strong sense of place…"Beyond
that, it was like any other middle-class suburb you’ve
ever driven through, houses with all the personality of paper
cups set in orderly rows.”…by providing both enough
information, and sometimes history, that you have a real sense
of the location, but not so much as to slow down the flow
of the story. However, it is also interesting to learn about
the types of amnesia and how they differ, as well as about
styles of shoplifting. For those who believe in “buy
American,” it’s nice to see McKenzie uses Chicago
Cutlery knives.
McKenzie is an appealing protagonist with an interesting internal
dialogue…"as far as I was concerned, anyone who
carried a concealed weapon who wasn’t involved in some
manner of law enforcement or security was an asshole. There
were no exceptions—myself included.” There is
a wonderful relationship between him and Nina providing both
excellent dialogue and details of mouth-watering food…"Dinner
was pan-seared scallops with a bean and pancetta ragù…”
Unidentified Woman #15 is a fast-paced, exciting read
with plenty of action and some great characters. It is your
perfect weekend/travel book.
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