Rush by Cole Poindexter

The second in Cole Poindexter’s Parker Derrick series, Rush is a fast-moving crime thriller with a stellar female lead, which expands and improves on its predecessor.

This installment finds the Little Rock CSI protagonist called to a murder scene in a hotel where a note asks for her by name. When she realizes the murder victim is a private investigator she knew seven years back in Jasper when she was attacked, things get very strange. As Parker delves into the evidence, she finds herself being triggered, remembering details of her own experience that might just help with the current case.

The mystery is pulled taut throughout this thriller, giving little up before the reveals, and for that, crime readers will relish being kept guessing to the end. The story’s technical side is well-researched, with CSI details keeping the plot real and engrossing. The novel is best read as part of a series in sequence so that readers can get to know Parker fully, though her world is certainly rich and well-crafted.

There is at times a dearth of dialogue and muscle movement in the narrative, which slows down the progression of the story. A rewrite with action and description instead would give much-needed suspense where the protagonist is discovering high-stakes information along with the reader, building atmosphere and terror more effectively. There are also triggering parts in this story, such as the gory detail of Parker’s knife attack some years before, which readers will either find exciting or distressing, but they are necessary to the plot and realistic enough to make toes curl.

Fans of CSI true crime will soak up the drama in a few sittings, and the ingenious twists will entice readers to grab Book 3, eager to find out what happens to Parker as she faces a mysterious adversary to come.