Degrees of Separation
Karen Wiesner and Chris Spindler
Quiet Storm, Oct 2004, 26.95, 297 page, ISBN: 0974408441
reviewed by Harriet Klausner

Andre Trelawney opens up Danse de Minuit, a classy French club that the locals call a strip joint, in Falcon’s Bend, Wisconsin. He keeps his dancers under tight rein with the performers residing under his roof and not allowed to leave the premises without an escort guard.

One of the dancers Teresa is found strangled to death under a bridge in Witmer Park. Police Lieutenant Pete Shasta and his partner Detective Danny Vincent investigate the first murder in town in over a year and that incident was a DUI. They interview Andre who the cops conclude is hiding something although he seems to have an airtight alibi. They talk with the wife of the club owner and follow that up with questioning the surviving dancers (Lacey, Cherry, Deidre, Sugar and Vanessa). The case seems to go nowhere as the detectives dig into the background of the club employees and employer seeking a motive.

DEGREES OF SEPARATION is a terrific police procedural with detectives struggling to uncover who and why. Pete is a fabulous focus to the fine plot as he worries that his second wife will dump him like his first spouse did because he works long diligent hours on the case instead of on her. His partner adds depth with his big city cynical outlook though younger than thirty (five years in the Big Apple will do that). The dancers have unique personalities and Andre is a way out antagonist who has no apparent reason to kill the victim. Though the twist is obvious and overused, sub-genre fans will appreciate this tense one sitting Falcon’s Bend offering.