The Chill of Night by James Hayman is the second book in the McCabe and Savage Thriller Series.
I decided to give Mr. Hayman a second chance because The Cutting was a good story - and would've been better minus an abundance of f-bombs and explicit sex scenes. So I purchased The Chill of Night and began reading. There were in fact less f-words, although certainly not a shortage of them, and not so many graphic sex scenes. It's important to note certain language and sexual references can be tolerated (by me) if the context presents no other alternative. I can't say this is the case with Mr. Hayman's first two books in this series. It seems that much of both is overdone and actually takes away from the good storylines leaving the reader feeling more like a voyeur rather than a participant in the search for the killer.
A frozen female corpse is found on the pier in her new BMW's trunk in January in Portland, Maine. When she's identified, PPD Detectives McCabe and Savage begin the search for her murderer. Is it her lover, one of the senior partners at the law firm where she works, the gay former priest who runs a halfway house for homeless teens, or perhaps her creepy landlord? Or is it someone else? How does the young woman suffering from schizophrenia fit into solving this crime? The extreme cold and snow of the Maine winter chills to the bone and seems to make everything that much harder for everyone.
Michael McCabe and Maggie Savage are great characters. McCabe drinks too much to cope with everything, is half in love with Maggie but is fully in love with his girlfriend Kyra while nearly hating his manipulative ex-wife for walking out on him for a rich man but more for abandoning their daughter in the process. McCabe has nightmares about his ex, often involving violence toward her. Maggie knows McCabe too well, appreciates him as a man, as a top detective, and especially as her partner. She's not afraid to expose his tendencies and face their conflicts straight up. The best parts of this series happen between McCabe and Maggie, their interaction and reactions, and listening in on McCabe's thought processes. Although we know more about McCabe than Maggie, Hayman gives us bits and pieces of her makeup and insights.
The Chill of Night depicts a bold killer who supposes he can get away with murder without being discovered but when he learns the police have actual clues as to his identity, he needs to dispose of the one providing those clues. The search, the cold, the confusion, and no shortage of suspects keep the guessing game going until close to the end. Again a good mystery which would be even better without the repeated f-bombs and unnecessary explicit sex.
Father, thank you for the abundance of talent and creativity you dispense so generously. Please lead those who use the gifts you've given them to yourself. Nothing is better than knowing you. Please bless James with a personal relationship with you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.