The Burn
(Det. Betty #2)
Nominated for the Edgar Award: Sue Grafton Memorial Award for strong female protagonist
Rattled from a run-in with a cult and desperate for answers, Detective Betty Rhyzyk decides to go rogue — but her investigation leads straight into the dark underworld of the Dallas drug cartel. There’s not much that can make Detective Betty Rhyzyk flinch. But her wounds are still fresh from an encounter with an apocalyptic cult known as The Family, and she’s having trouble readjusting to life as it once was. She’s back at work as a narcotics detective, but something isn’t right — at work, where someone has been assassinating confidential informants, or at home, where she struggles to connect with her loving wife, Jackie. To make matters worse, Betty’s partner seems to be increasingly dependent on the prescription painkillers he was prescribed for the injuries he sustained rescuing her. Forced into therapy, a desk assignment, and domestic bliss, Betty’s at the point of breaking when she decides to go rogue, investigating her own department and chasing down phantom sightings of the cult leader who took her hostage. The chase will lead her to the dark heart of a drug cartel terrorizing Dallas, and straight to the crooked cops who plan to profit from it all. There’s never a dull moment in Dallas, especially now that Detective Betty’s back.
BUY THE BOOK
Reviews
“Raymond Chandler praised Dashiell Hammett for taking crime fiction out of the drawing room and into the streets. With Betty Rhyzyk, Kathleen Kent brings those mean streets to life as excitingly as anybody has in years.”
— Washington Post
“Harsh, violent reality is the daily fare for Dallas police detective Betty Rhyzyk, the narrator of Kathleen Kent’s satisfying THE BURN.”
— Wall Street Journal
“A labyrinth of a police procedural punctuated by non-stop action…THE BURN barely allows the reader to take a breath as believable twists careen throughout…Kent is just beginning to explore Betty’s many layers.”
— Oline Coghill, Associated Press
“Kent continues to reinvent and subvert traditional noir expectations with the larger-than-life, damaged, courageous Betty. Action-driven mystery anchored by dynamic, deep characters.”
— Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
“The Burn is a great followup to The Dime. . .it is a suspenseful mystery right up until the end.”
— BookReporter
“The blunt, volatile, and relentlessly brave Betty leaps off the page, and Kent hits her with a frequently terrifying obstacle course of hair-raising scenarios.”
— Publishers Weekly
“An awesome procedural that’ll keep you on your toes and keep you rooting for the detective.”
— Book Riot
“A gripping, powerfully human procedural.”
— Booklist
“The plotting is well-crafted with strong action passages and a believable, dangerous setting with characters who pop.”
— Mystery People/Book People
“The Burn is a stellar offering from an author whose talents transcend genre. Kathleen Kent has written a scorcher of a story. ..As thought-provoking as it is thrilling, this one deserves a place at, or near, the top of your TBR pile(s). Detective Betty Rhyzyk is hot stuff.”