Jon Nunn is a former police officer who has been disgraced by his most haunting case, which seemed like a slam-dunk. All of the evidence pointed to Rosemary Thomas as the person who killed her husband, stuffed him in the iron maiden and then shipped it off to Germany. She certainly had a motive, as it was no secret that he was a serial cheater. And she had means as she was the one who had secured the iron maiden for the museum's exhibit. And everyone had witnessed the scene between the two of them when she found out about his latest mistress -- the last night he was seen alive.
However, this story actually takes place ten years after she was executed for the murder of her husband. Nearing the ten-year anniversary of Rosemary's execution, key people involved in her life begin receiving invitations to a memorial service for her. No one is quite sure what the point is or why this is happening now.
Meanwhile, in the intervening ten years, Nunn who worked so tirelessly to convict Rosemary has become less convinced that she actually committed the crime. He launches a one-man, unofficial investigation to try to find the truth about what actually took place ten years ago. What is so ironic about this is that his obsession with the case back then cost him his job and his marriage, and now he's determined to revisit it again.
What is unique about this book is that it wasn't written by one person. Instead, a collection of some of the best contemporary writers collaborated to write a brilliant book with some of the most mind-bending twists and turns imaginable. Because I am familiar with roughly a third of the authors who participated in this project, I feel confident in saying that each author tackled the subjects with which they were most familiar. For instance, Kathy Reichs handled the forensic chapters. I also liked that some authors had a back-and-forth exchange as if conversing with each other or toying with each through their respective chapters.
The (very minor) downfall of doing a book this way is that since each chapter was titled with the author's name, I would go into the chapter with certain expectations, or I would look more forward to the next chapter because it was someone who I was familiar with and liked (as opposed to someone I wasn't familiar with and didn't really know their writing style).
The plot was gritty, suspenseful, and compelling. It was definitely everything I would expect from authors I've come to love, and authors I'm hoping to get to know better.
More than twenty New York Times bestselling
authors team up to create a first-rate serial novel -- a
collaboration that combines the skills of Americaβs greatest
storytellers to produce a gripping, spellbinding mystery.
βThe lineup of writers who have contributed to this
mystery is akin to the Murderersβ Row of the 1927 New York
Yankees. There is not a weak spot in the bunch.β
βDavid Baldacci, from the Introduction
Alexander McCall Smith. Sandra Brown. Faye Kellerman.
J.A. Jance. Jeffery Deaver. Kathy Reichs. Lisa Scottoline.
Jeff Lindsay. These are only a handful of the names
thatmake up the all-star lineup of authors behindNo Rest for the Dead, a tale ofvengeance,
greed, and love that flows seamlessly,in the words
of David Baldacci, βas it passes fromone creator's
mind to the next.β
When Christopher Thomas, a ruthless curator at San
Franciscoβs McFall Art Museum, is murdered and his decaying
body is found in an iron maiden in a Berlin museum, his
wife, Rosemary, is the primary suspect, and she is tried,
convicted and executed. Ten years later, Jon Nunn, the
detective who cracked the case, is convinced that the wrong
person was put to death. In the years since the case was
closed, he's discovered a web of deceit and betrayal
surrounding the Thomases that could implicate any number of
people in the crime. With the help of the dead woman's
friend, he plans to gather everyone who was there the night
Christopher died and finally uncover the truth, suspect by
suspect. Solving this case may be Nunnβs last chance for
redemption β¦ but the shadowy forces behind Christopherβs
death will stop at nothing to silence the past forever.
In this innovative storytelling approach, each of these
twenty-five bestselling writers brings their distinctive
voice to a chapter of the narrative, building the tension to
a shocking, explosive finale. No Restfor the Dead
is a thrilling, page-turning accomplishment that only
Americaβs very best authors could achieve.
From the Introduction of No Rest for the Dead:
There is always that case, the one that keeps me awake
at night, the one that got away. Itβll always be there,
gnawing at the edges of my mind. It doesnβt matter that ten
years have passed, it doesnβt matter that the case is
officially closed. An innocent woman was executed, I was the
one who helped make it happen, and on the sad night when the
needle was inserted into her arm, injecting her with death,
part of my life ended too.
It never felt right, never made sense. Sure, there
was motive and opportunity, there was the physical evidence.
But if you met her, if you knew her the way I got to know
her . . . It wasnβt until later, after Iβd taken a step back
from the case, that I realized it had angles I hadnβt seen,
layers I hadnβt uncovered, back when it mattered, back when
I could have saved herβ¦.
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