Next Move, You're Dead
Next Move You're Dead is a mystery novel centering around Detective John Cooper as he investigates several seemingly unrelated crimes. He is working on the murder of numerous prostitutes around town. But a routine traffic stop results in the arrest of a prominent city councilman for these crimes. Why? His car has the body of the latest victim in the trunk. Later a well-known lawyer comes home to find his wife dead, apparently by suicide. Why? She has presumably found evidence that her husband is having an affair and rather than deal with it she is killing herself and their unborn child to torment her husband. The question arises just what do these crimes have in common and why is John being contacted anonymously to participate in this "game."When I first started reading this story, I thought I had it pegged as a mystery. However, the further I got into the story I realized that this was perhaps more of a mystery and a psychological thriller. I began to question whether John was truly being contacted by an anonymous task master or if he's simply having a breakdown? Ms. Barton definitely keeps the reader wondering what's going to happen next. One moment you're cheering for John to succeed with his investigation and the next you're hoping he gets the medical help he obviously needs. Ms. Barton has given us a well-crafted story with believable characters but... I wish I could put my finger on it, but there was just something about this story that just didn't do it for me. Don't get me wrong, I found it intriguing and interesting while reading but as soon as I finished reading the story was completely forgotten.
