Book Review: VIXEN by Ken Bruen

VIXEN by Ken Bruen (St. Martin’s Minotaur, 2003) Trade paperback, 208 pages. ISBN # 0312327307 / 9780312327309 Inspector Brant series #5. 

Summary on the Goodreads website . . . . .

For the Southeast London police squad, it's rough, tough, dirty business as usual. The Vixen, the most sensuous, crazed female serial killer ever, is masterminding a series of lethal explosions. She is unpredictable, wild, angry--and the cops don't even know she exists.

Meanwhile, Inspector Roberts is helpless to stop the explosions and his subordinates aren't doing much better. Brant is consumed with an even-bigger-than-usual mean streak, and fast-rising Porter Nash finds himself facing serious health problems--everything to do with needles. PC MacDonald is determined to soldier on, whatever the cost, and the career of a new addition to the squad, WPC Andrews, starts spectacularly but with Falls as her mentor she's not expected to last long. At the top, Superintendent Brown is close to a coronary, and arresting the wrong man in a blaze of publicity is only the beginning of his problems.

If the squad survives this incendiary installment in Ken Bruen's blazingly intense series, they'll do so with barely a cop left standing.  

My Three-Star review on the Goodreads website. . . . .

     Bruen writes tautly. He conveys the mood, atmosphere, and tension so well with an economy of words. Vixen is also dialogue-heavy, yet so much of the meaning (and subtle sarcasm) comes through as well as rich character depictions. I admire that.

     This was a short novel and an incredibly quick read. It's hard to put down, but I forced myself not to drop everything else I was doing to finish this.

     If you like your police characters gritty, nasty, street savvy and darkly humorous, then you'll want to read Bruen's books featuring police inspector Brant. 

     There are an incredible number of side stories involving other officers as well as the criminals, and Bruen manages to fit it all in with his incredible concise style. The ending of this one was especially satisfying as regards the fortune/misfortune of several characters.

     I rate this 3.5 stars, wishing that Goodreads would include fractional ratings.