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Texas Ranger Provides 'Singularity' During Her Search For A Killer

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BY K. SUE COLLINS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 13, 2008

"Singularity" by Kathryn Casey (St. Martin's Minotaur, $25)

Not since Patricia Cornwell's "Postmortem" has a crime author crafted such a stellar series debut. Kathryn Casey hits the right notes in her first novel, "Singularity," a thriller with an insider's insight into the minds of psychopaths.

Texas Ranger Sarah Armstrong arrives to the scene of a bloody double murder. The male victim belongs to a prominent family and her superiors insist the case be solved immediately.

On the surface, the murder seems clear-cut. The victim's marriage crumbled, his wife has an unexplained $100,000 withdrawal, and the fellow victim was his girlfriend. But Armstrong sees something else in the staged scene; a contract killer would not have been this apparent with the overkill.

As similar homicides pop up, Sarah and FBI behavioral analyst David Garrity delve into the sinister motives of a killer, who contacts Armstrong with teasing threats.

Think of Armstrong as a blending of Alex Cross and Kay Scarpetta, a tough cookie balancing her new role as a widow. Casey finds sympathy and strength in the female Texas Ranger as she struggles with sexism and politics at the heart of this crime.

"Singularity" is not her first book. Her career writing non-fiction crime chronicles afforded her with the research and qualifications to produce this well-written thriller. The only weaknesses emerge when Armstrong's home life is placed in the forefront and distracts the reader from the true meat of the work.

K. Sue Collins of Tampa is a crime novelist.

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