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Here's the layout. There's this serial rapist who sexually assaults three women --- Meg Pesaturo, a college student; Carol Rosen, a charter member of the ladies-who-lunch; and Trish Hayes, another college student. Hayes dies as a result of the assault; her sister, Jillian, an entrepreneur, is also viciously attacked when she blunders into the incident. The three surviving women don't consider themselves victims, but survivors, and form the Survivors Club. They push, yell, scream and practically lead the investigation that results in the arrest of Eddie Como, who quickly becomes known as The College Hill Rapist. Como's conviction seems like a foregone conclusion, given the DNA evidence against him. And on the morning of the beginning of his trial, a sniper on the roof of the Providence, Rhode Island Courthouse exacts swift and brutal retribution with one well-placed headshot. The women, of course, are jubilant. No testimony, no appeals. Justice is done. End of book.
Except...that's only the beginning of this thriller by Lisa Gardner, which has enough twists and turns in it that one can't help "one more page"ing it through the night. When Como is killed on the courthouse steps, the investigation of his murder comes under the jurisdiction of Rhode Island State Police Detective Sergeant Roan Griffin. Griffin's suspicions turn almost immediately to members of the Survivors Club, each of whom have plenty of motive and, directly or indirectly, opportunity. Pesaturo's family is, as they say, connected: Rosen's husband, an attorney, has been making secret liquidations from their brokerage account, and Hayes has made some massive bank account withdrawals that she refuses to account for. Griffin has barely begun his investigation, however, when another woman is attacked and murdered, using the same m.o. as with the previous assaults. And the DNA at the scene of the latest murder is a perfect match for ... Eddie Como's.
How can this be? The answer is right in front of the reader, but Gardner is so skillful in misdirecting the reader that trying to guess what is going on is practically impossible. There are actually two stories here --- one belongs to the Survivors Club and one belongs to Griffin; by book's end, they will dramatically interweave and collide.
Gardner will make a believer out of you. Her ingenious construction of this mystery will keep you guessing at every page, and her ability to draw her characters in conflict, whether personal or jurisdictional, is first rate. Mystery lovers who encounter THE SURVIVORS CLUB will be putting Gardner's name near or at the top of their "must read" list.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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