FICTION

The Twenty-Three

Berkley. (Promise Falls Trilogy, Bk. 3). Nov. 2016. 464p. ISBN 9780451472724. $27; ebk. ISBN 9780698182318. F
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Residents of Promise Falls, NY, are becoming violently ill after having their morning coffee and orange juice. Soon the hospital is overrun with sick and dying citizens. Former reporter David Harwood quickly surmises that there is something wrong with the water supply. It is up to Det. Barry Duckworth to figure out if this sabotage is linked to the bizarre and deadly crimes centered on the number 23. Both Harwood and Duckworth suspect Randall Finley, the former mayor and current owner of Finley Springs Water. As if mass murder weren't enough, another body of a young woman has been discovered and there is no longer any doubt that a serial killer is on the loose. While Barclay wraps up both mysteries, the solutions are lacking. The identity of the serial killer, especially, comes out of nowhere.
VERDICT Although this series has been advertised as a trilogy (Broken Promise; Far from True), the fate of several characters are left hanging. Readers hoping for a satisfying conclusion will be disappointed.
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