Detective Matt Brady struggles to solve the disappearances of seven young women, but he quickly finds himself pitted against a criminal organization that knows as much about police procedure as he does. His troubles are compounded when a young veterinarian injects herself into the investigation and is targeted to become victim number eight. When he tries to protect her, he finds himself in the crosshairs of a professional cop killer.
He’s haunted by the memory of a kidnapping case gone wrong…
Not wanting history to repeat itself, Detective Matt Brady struggles to solve the disappearances of seven young women, but he quickly finds himself pitted against a criminal organization that knows as much about police procedure as he does—an organization that will do whatever it takes to stay one step ahead of him. His troubles are compounded when a young veterinarian injects herself into the investigation and is targeted to become victim number eight. When he tries to protect her, he finds himself in the crosshairs of a professional cop killer. Can Brady solve the case in time to save his new love, or will this investigation be the death of both of them?
Excerpt
He had seven missing woman, now he had a murder. He was sure the cases were connected, but how?
Brady knelt down next to the body and examined her head. One apparent gunshot wound above the right eye. Her half-opened eyes were fixed in a death stare, straight up at the ceiling.
Killebrew pointed at a hole in the wall opposite the front door. “We removed the bullet. It appears to be a nine millimeter. Same as the shell casing.”
Brady saw blood spatter sprayed onto the lower half of the wall. He stood up, moved to the living room, and made a mental inventory of the room. The front window was covered with flowery-patterned drapes. A piano sat in the far corner by the front window. He was no expert on furniture but the victim’s appeared to be fairly expensive pieces. He saw mail lying on the coffee table. Using a pen, he sifted through it, checking the sender’s address, but nothing jumped out at him. A family portrait of her, an ordinary-looking man with narrow shoulders he assumed was Burt Smith, and twins—a girl and a boy—sat on the end of the table.
He ambled over to a European-style, white corded telephone, covered with black fingerprint powder, sitting on a table next to a leather tufted sofa. From the room’s furnishings and appearance, it seemed to him that she had money, and lots of it. Since no evidence indicative of a robbery existed, he wondered whether Burt Smith shot her or hired someone to do the job. As he walked through the remainder of the house, he asked himself, “Where the hell are you, Burt Smith?”
Brady did a records search of divorce records through the Bell County District Clerk’s online database. When the Becker-Smith divorce record showed up on the screen, he wrote down Burt Smith’s last known address, the Candlewood Suites, as well as the attorney’s name and address. The divorce petition was filed by Becker claiming irreconcilable differences as grounds. It listed two children, both over the age of eighteen.
Professional Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
Young women are disappearing in the city of Temple, Texas, and Detective Matt Brady is convinced that it’s because someone is running a human-trafficking operation...The author delivers a rock-solid thriller that delves just as much into the bad guys’ lives as it does the good guys...[T]he book delivers multiple scenes of nail-biting intensity. First-rate crime fiction for those who like their cops and criminals on a level playing field.
Christophger Ackerman, IP Book Reviews
In his novel Cornered, author Alan Brenham employs his experience as a former detective to create a realistic and riveting crime drama . . . Seven women have been kidnapped in Temple, Texas. All the women share one thing in common, they are exceptionally beautiful. [T]he story is centered upon a credible, sympathetic protagonist. [T]he author builds the drama in such a subtle manner that the most crucial facts of the case are simultaneously revealed to both the reader and the detective. Cornered kept my attention from beginning to end . . . For those who enjoy an entertaining crime story—and also want to see how detectives operate in the real world—this novel is a must read.
Midwest Book Review
Seven missing women plus one murder: but are these cases connected? Their only association seems to be that they were exceptionally beautiful. That's the question detective Matt Brady faces in Alan Brenham's hard-hitting crime novel Cornered, which jumps in to deep waters feet first and very quickly evolves to become a complex thriller.
The first thing to know is that this isn't light reading: scenarios change with a snap, readers are treated to a complex series of circumstances and chapters devoted to rounding out situations, protagonists, and motivations, and the effort begins with a personal foundation and rapidly moves outward to embrace the world.
Cornered may be set in modern Texas and deals with human trafficking; but that's too simple a description. In actuality Matt is a human being facing all the uncertainties and questions that make his detective work a challenge and a pleasure, and these qualms drive his personality and efforts throughout. It's a real pleasure to see the humanity that Matt embodies as he embarks upon the search of his life - and to join him in piecing together the few clues that comprise one of the most challenging cases of his life.
Now, readers are given more answers than Matt; and so are in the position of observing how he pieces together logic and events to come to conclusions viewers already know. And further insights into the perps and their motivations just add icing to the cake of intrigue as a vet, a cat, and other factors enter into a complex series of encounters.
The noose is tightening slowly - but is it tightening upon Matt, another victim, or the perps? Despite the changing viewpoints and insights provided, it's really not possible to easily predict the future events of Cornered - and so readers are treated to delightful changes as the story evolves.
It's rare to see a protagonist who struggles with so many ideas and encounters simultaneously: in reality Matt is a juggler, keeping all the balls in the air but with a satisfying uncertainty that reflects his humanity and self-doubt. The villains here - Weaver and Chiles - are equally well drawn and as the story shifts perspective between detective and perps, readers gain full vision of the motivations and actions of each.
What seems to be a one-time encounter with a veterinarian turns out to be something more as she becomes an intrinsic part of events that unfold with deadly perils for both.
Add a surprise twist to the ending and you have a mystery/thriller combo that reaches its crescendo in a flight to redemption and romance, concluding with new possibilities for all who survive the final confrontation. In short, a mystery/thriller that is steady and gripping throughout: just the ticket for readers who seek something more complex in their detective reading.
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