The Killing Kind.

John Connolly.

Atria Books/Simon & Schuster. $25. 376 pp.

Like the western, the private eye novel is thoroughly ingrained in American tradition. That doesn’t stop Irish writer John Connolly, who lives in Dublin, from shaping a pitch-perfect, intensely dark thriller into a thoroughly American private eye novel set in Maine.

While Maine provides the background of an untamed frontier in his three novels, Connolly adds supernatural elements as a springboard for his plot. Far from some “I see dead people” gimmick that would ruin a lesser writer’s tale, Connolly’s smooth, sophisticated handling of the paranormal aspects makes the evil that pervades The Killing Kind seem even more real.

The mournful Charlie “Bird” Parker, an ex-New York cop turned reluctant private eye, is haunted by visions of his late wife and child and others who have met violent ends. Those visions keep cropping up when he is hired by a former U.S. senator to look into the apparent suicide of a young female grad student. The key to Grace Peltier’s death lies in her missing thesis on the Aroostook Baptists, a cultlike religious group whose members vanished during the 1960s.

It appears that congregation may have just turned up when a road crew in northern Maine accidentally unearths a mass grave. Parker’s investigation points to an enigmatic religious leader with a “hollow heart” whose motives may be more lethal than his followers imagined. This also leads Parker to Elias Pudd, one of the genre’s best named and most chillingly cruel villains whose weapons of choice are spiders. Pudd is so vile, just his touch can make one physically ill.

As Parker’s investigation deepens, Connolly tackles religious fanaticism, vengeance and the meaning of evil.

The Killing Kind’s enigmatic villain and twisting plot are augmented by Connolly’s intense characterizations, a complex hero and lyrical writing reminiscent of James Lee Burke’s early works.

Connolly adds psychological suspense as he creatively weaves The Killing Kind into the very definition of noir. He quite confidently toils in Stephen King’s territory, but that horrormeister’s Maine seems like a trip to Disney World compared to Connolly’s. Despite his dark approach, Connolly keeps a sense of hope — and a bit of humor.

In just three novels, Connolly has proven to be a top crime-fiction writer. At a recent national mystery writers’ conference, the line for Connolly’s autographed inscriptions was among the longest. His first novel, Every Dead Thing, won the American Shamus Award for Best First Private Eye Novel; each of his novels has been a best seller in Great Britain. The Killing Kind is a stunning novel.

CRIME AND POLITICS

East of the Arch.

Robert J. Randisi.

St. Martin’s/Thomas Dunne Books. $24.95. 336 pp.

Across the river from the world-famous Arch is the town of East St. Louis, Ill., a city so unlike its neighbor in Missouri. Through the years, East St. Louis has become synonymous for urban decay, corrupt government and crime.

That was then. Led by a new, no-nonsense mayor, the city is trying to rise from its ashes. So when it appears a serial killer may be stalking the streets, the East St. Louis mayor works out a deal to get St. Louis detective Joe Keough to help with the investigation.

The assignment couldn’t be better timed. Keough is on the verge of quitting his dead-end job doing security work for St. Louis’ mayor for a plum offer from the FBI. Keough wanted more excitement, and now he’s got it. While leading the investigation, Keough also is caught up in political games, faces an internal affairs probe and tries to help a little boy be adopted.

Robert J. Randisi, the author of more than 200 westerns and mysteries, delivers an action-packed police procedural that is balanced by its many effective subplots. East of the Arch is enhanced by a shocker of an ending, reminding us that sometimes politics trumps crime detection.

The intuitive Keough is a cop’s cop. When the East St. Louis cops resent his super-detective reputation, Keough sets out to show them he’s on their side. The author effectively weaves in Keough’s own battle to accept his recently diagnosed diabetes. Randisi also takes time to develop a new partner for Keough — Marc Jeter, a young black detective who quotes Mark Twain at appropriate and inopportune times alike. Jeter would make a welcome recurring character.

Once again, the St. Louis-based author has used his home as a unique setting for a fascinating tale in East of the Arch.

MUSIC AND MURDER

Jamaica Blue.

Don Bruns.

St. Martin’s/Minotaur. $24.95. 310 pp.

Songwriter-musician Don Bruns obeys the adage “write what you know” in his pulsating clever debut in Jamaica Blue, centering around Mick Sever, rock journalist and amateur sleuth.

Mick puts on hold a tour to promote his best-selling book about a rock star’s murder to follow the next “biggest thing,” a just-discovered reggae/rap band called Derrick Lyman and the Laments. Despite his controversial political and racial rants, the charismatic Derrick, called “the second coming of Bob Marley,” is the band, already able to mesmerize an audience despite his misogynistic lyrics that advocate violence against women. But the lyrics may bring more than just sing-alongs. Three women have been found murdered following the band’s concerts. While evidence points to one of the band’s security guards, Mick isn’t convinced. Now his article is evolving into an investigative piece about the band — and the violence it seems to promote.

Jamaica Blue mixes the right beat of rock, suspense and character that keeps you hanging on. The band’s complex relationships and Derrick’s strident views provide a clever subplot as Jamaica Blue riffs to its logical conclusion.

Bruns imbues Mick with just enough of a complicated lifestyle to make him believable. After decades, he’s still at the top of his profession, but Mick also is feeling his age, especially in an industry that prizes youth. “He’d been defining new styles and generations of music for too many generations.” Still, given the current state of publishing, it’s unfathomable that an author, even a successful one like Mick is supposed to be, would leave a book tour to write a magazine article, even if he hopes to turn that feature into a book someday.

The author’s inside knowledge of rock, its politics and star-making machine provides a solid foundation. A road performer for years, Bruns has written songs and advertising jingles. He even wrote a song, Just One of the Boys, for the novel, and it is included on his recently released CD, Last Flight Out.

Appropriately, Jamaica Blue expertly mines the island’s atmosphere. The author is less successful when the action switches to Florida. While much is made of Miami and its international style, little is said of Fort Lauderdale, where much of the action takes place. And if one is going to use a South Florida landmark such as Bahia Mar, spell it right. Who came up with the spelling “Bajia?”

Still, Jamaica Blue’s sound plot should signal more time to rock with Mick.

Oline H. Cogdill can be reached at or 954-356-4886.