Playing God by Kate Flora

Dr. Stephen Pleasant was discovered murdered in his parked car one cold February morning, a sharped rod had been crammed down his throat, and his zipper undone. The good doctor had a reputation for visiting hookers, and by all appearances this looked to be a rendezvous gone wrong. Sgt Joe Burgess had no lack of suspects from the doctor's current wife, her father and step-father, his ex-wife, his colleagues, and his patients all had a reason to want him dead.

I've enjoyed Kate Flora's Thea Kozak series, and was surprised a new protagonist (in hopefully a new series) is introduced in PLAYING GOD. While the book has an interesting, suspenseful plot and is well-paced, where it really impresses is in the characterization. St Joe Burgess is a haunted cop. He lives for his job, and feel his turmoil and frustration as he investigates this case. Not many characters are as multi-layered and fleshed out as Joe Burgess "the meanest cop in Portland". The character alone made this book well worth reading. I hope there are many more to come.

Related Tags: Kate Flora, Playing God, Book Review, crime fiction, Joe Burgess