Murder in LA.

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This book opens with a unique style of murder. The police are called to the scene where a body has been left at the base of a Thai statue. The body is nearly unrecognizable as human and the detectives are told by the medical examiner that it appears to have been roasted alive in an oven. Even seasoned investigators are horrified by the level of depravity of this murder. Tully Jarsdel; a rookie detective, and his partner and mentor are assigned the investigation.

The book is well written and presents a unique cast of characters. The homicide squad is made up of detectives who became police officers after leaving another career who are partnered with veteran officers. Jarsdel left his career in academia, on his way to becoming a history professor, to become a police officer. The mystery had the potential to be very interesting but went off the rails for me with too much philosophical discussion between characters that didn’t really add to the overall story. Some of the discussions reminded my why I didn’t like philosophy in college - convoluted, confusing and left me wondering what the heck they were trying to say.

More focus on investigation and less philosophy and obscure history references would have greatly increased my enjoyment of this book.