City of Saviors (Tor/Forge) by Rachel Howzell Hall is Hall’s fourth gripping thriller in her series featuring LAPD police homicide detective, Elouise “Lou” Norton, who has become a sergeant on the force. In City of Saviors, Lou is suffering from PTSD and recovering from injuries after her run-in with the brutal murderer, Zach Fletcher, who came very close to ending her life in Trail of Echoes. Lou and her partner, Detective Colin Taggert, investigate the death of seventy-three-year-old Eugene Washington, who dies after a Labor Day weekend picnic, and determine that the Vietnam vet’s death was anything but a natural one.

I and the book’s publishers, Tor/Forge, are pleased to announce that that one lucky reader of this review who enters below will get to WIN a hardback copy of City of Saviors! This giveaway is open to only residents of the United States and Canada who are 18 or older and leave a non-Spam related comment below, meaning the state or province and city he/she lives in. A few other rules are also below. Eleanor Griego was the winner of the last book giveaway, a hardback copy of Killing Is My Business by Adam Christopher (Tor/Forge).

 

City of Saviors Captures Readers’ Attention From the Very First Sentence

City of Saviors captures the readers’ attention from the very first sentence, and holds it to the very end of the novel. Norton has faced many nefarious murderers during her career, but perhaps none who are any more devious than the culprit behind the death of Vitenam vet, Eugene Washington. The house Washington dies in is like a scene out of the suburbs of Hell, with cats, living and dead, roaming around at will, roaches scurrying everywhere, and the oders of spoiled food and death pungently scenting the un-airconditioned air.

Washington is found dead, sitting in an armchair, with a gun in front of him, and an unfinished meal on a rusty tray beside the armchair, with roaches stuck in a casserole dish. Also, Norton and Taggert spot an unfinished 40-ounce bottle of Schlitz on the tray, with roaches sprinting in and out of it. Lou makes it out of the house of horror, somehow, back into the sunlight on a 98-degree day, without throwing up, but just barely.

She and Taggert did not see any bullet holes in Washington’s body, but Norton knew that did not necessarily rule out murder, especially with a “girlfriend” of the victim, Bernice Parrish, on the scene, anxiously awaiting news about a will inside the house, and “soup pennies” she had been promised by Washington upon his death. “Soup pennies,” were slang for gold coins.

It turns out, in City of Saviors, that others also have a motive for wanting to see Washington dead, like some of the congregants of the 6,000-member congregation of Blessed Mission Ministries. The church is led by the colorful and charismatic Bishop Solomon Tate. When Norton, Taggert, and others re-enter Washington’s house, this time wearing HazMat suits, and Norton discovers the victim’s will, another possible suspects is named in it, Oswald Little, who has been promised Washington’s property.

In City of Saviors, LAPD homicide detective finds herself on a case like no other. Her investigation into Eugene Washington’s murder leads her to wonder why Bishop Tate might have a reason to protect a member of his congregation and led her astray. Was Washington poisoned, or did somebody possibly know about an allergy he had, which led to his death?

For the chance to win a hardback copy of City of Saviors, all you need to do is leave a comment below, mentioning your name and what state or province in Canada you reside in, and your city. That information will let me know if you are eligible to enter, as Tor/Forge needs to know in order to mail out a copy when a winner is randomly chosen. The potential winner also needs to be 18 or older, and must provide me his/her complete address upon being chosen as the winner. People who follow me on Twitter @DouglasRCobb can leave the requested information as a Message there, if you would like, rather than below. The contest/giveaway will run from now, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017, for two weeks, to Saturday, Sept. 30, at midnight. The potential winner will then have five days to provide me with his/her full snail mail addres, to give to Tor/Forge, who will then mail out the copy of City of Saviors. Enter now, and good luck!

By: Douglas R. Cobb

This contest has now ended. Nobody entered, so sadly, nobody was the winner of this excellent novel by Rachel Howzell Hall.