Showboat Medical Examiner Margot Heavner makes it clear that, breaking with her department’s earlier practice ( The Bone Collection, 2016, etc.), she has no intention of calling in Tempe as a consultant and promptly identifies the faceless body herself as that of a young Asian man. Patrick’s make this an addictive read.Īnother sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.Ī week after the night she chases but fails to catch a mysterious trespasser outside her town house, some unknown party texts Tempe four images of a corpse that looks as if it’s been chewed by wild hogs, because it has been. Readers won’t be dazzled by the forgettable Rossi or her team of scalawags, but the galloping storyline and behind-the-scenes view of St. But the characters aren’t really the stars of Pintoff’s novel instead, it’s the cathedral, with its complicated history, complex structure, and religious significance. In fact, even though she’s touted as a crack negotiator, readers will marvel at the bad calls she makes and the very human fallout that results. And Rossi herself isn’t really all that charismatic. Pintoff’s reliance on the tired trope of a band of misfits coming together under a charismatic leader isn’t especially innovative or well-done Rossi’s team could be straight out of clichéd network television. But, as the hostage crisis drags on, moving closer to the deadline, things start going wrong, and for one team member, a personal issue becomes entangled in the crisis itself. The members are an eclectic group of criminals saved from long prison terms by virtue of their assignment to the unit. The first order of business is to re-establish her old team, a special secret squad known as the Vidocq Unit. But she grudgingly comes back to work when the hostage taker asks for her by name.

Eve’s reluctant to get involved: she’s still mourning the death of her beloved stepfather, a former CIA operative. He wants five individuals brought to the scene to act as “witnesses” to the ensuing events. The city’s Christmas season is brought to a standstill as Eve negotiates with a mysterious man whose demands seem nonsensical.

Patrick’s Cathedral, a team of misfits led by the emotionally damaged Eve Rossi takes charge in this fast-paced thriller.Īlthough known for period crime novels, Pintoff successfully transitions to the present when she recruits the reluctant FBI profiler Eve Rossi to help defuse a mystifying hostage situation at the iconic New York City landmark.

Hostage taker by stefanie pintoff