A year later another township supervisor, the owner of a Poconos resort, is brutally stabbed to death. The DRP’s small force had hoped that its first homicide would be simple to solve, but this high-profile crime has few clues and no obvious suspects. Even though Clarry and another detective, Marty Grogan are of equal rank, the DRP chief, a retired colonel with the Military Police whose experience was more bureaucratic than actual police work, names Grogan as the lead detective with Clarry his assistant.

A second township supervisor is gruesomely killed along with two women who were at the scene. Although the murder method is different, the presence of an eagle feather by the body as well as their positions in the community connect the two crimes. The police realize that a serial killer is on the loose. When the investigation fails to identify a suspect quickly, the police chief gives Clarry and Grogan a limited time before he asks the State Police to take over the investigation.

Clarry begins to suspect that Grogan’s investigation is following a course that is unlikely to produce a suspect and is overlooking some promising areas of inquiry. While simultaneously balancing her personal life and her relationship with her son, she starts an independent investigation on her own.

She discovers that the two murder victims along with Jimmy Leacock and two others were members of a championship basketball team known as the Eagles. The unwillingness of the remaining Eagles to assist with the investigation arouses the suspicions of the police detectives. Are the men potential targets or suspects? Did Jimmy Leacock have an ulterior motive in recommending Clarry for the detective position? Are the murders an isolated occurrence or part of a larger criminal scheme?

Generally, No Control follows the standard formula for a police procedural. The reader follows along as Clarry carries on the investigation of the crime. Some of the plot twists, however, are far-fetched and seem more designed to mislead than to be a logical plot progression. The final revelation of the villain’s identity may come as a surprise to some readers, partly because his motive is not well-established. Only the rare reader will figure out this mystery before Clarry solves the crimes.

Clarry is a sympathetic character. Abandoned by her husband when their son was still an infant, she has struggled against overwhelming odds to provide him with a supportive home environment while conscientiously pursuing the police career she loves. Given the conflicting demands she’s juggling, it’s amazing she has the energy to do much of anything.

The male characters come off less admirably. Most are dishonest or unreliable. Jimmy Leacock, who is one of the more important secondary characters, is not completely convincing. At the beginning of the book, his and Clarry’s romantic relationship is in the past, but there’s no indication that she had ever suspected him to be duplicitous or manipulative. It seems strange that someone as intelligent and observant as Clarry never had any indication of his true slimy character during their brief love affair.

No Control is most likely to appeal to fans of police procedural mysteries who appreciate intricate plots.

--Lesley Dunlap