The Dead Don't Lie Stuart M. Kaminsky Forge ISBN 0-765-31602-1 $23.95 HC

Stuart Kaminsky's cops are low keyed, witty, diligent, and in The Dead Don't Lie both 'Rabbi' Abe Lieberman and 'Father' Bill Hanrahan prove again that strongly written characters are the key source in which to build a series storyline. The day to day life of Kaminsky's Chicago detectives has been woven through each of the previous 9 "Lieberman" crime novels. Often as not minor characters reappear reinforcing the connection between this new novel and previous reads. Mr. Kaminsky's writing style makes a reader new to the series feel quickly up to speed as to what's happened previously. The Dead Don't Lie is as good a starting point as Lieberman's Folly (#1 in the series).

Three people in the Turkish community have been murdered and it falls to Lieberman to find the connection. Meanwhile, his partner (Hanrahan) attending the birth of his daughter, has only to ride the elevator to his next case. A shooting victim reports that he's been beaten by two people unrelated to the man who shot him. Bill is left to sort through this. The two cases are both intriguing on their own but it's typical of Kaminksy to have his cops juggling several things at once. Justice is served, violence portrayed, respect shown, life lived, things are changed... Kaminksy makes it all seem so easy. Read The Dead Don't Lie to see how it's done.

Dave Biemann