The Burn - (Detective Betty) by Kathleen Kent (Paperback)

About the Book

"Not much can make Detective Betty Rhyzyk flinch. But when forced into therapy, a desk assignment, and domestic bliss following a terrifying run-in with an apocalyptic cult, she's having trouble readjusting to life as it once was. At home, she struggles to connect with her loving wife, Jackie. At work, someone has been assassinating confidential informants. To make matters worse, Betty's partner seems to be increasingly dependent on the painkillers he was prescribed for injuries he sustained narrowly rescuing her. Betty's at the point of breaking when she decides to go rogue, on a chase that 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."-- Publisher marketing.

Book Synopsis

In this "deeply satisfying" thriller, Detective Betty Rhyzyk is up against a string of mysterious assassinations, an increasingly reckless partner, and her worst fear--desk duty--when she decides to go rogue . . . heading straight into the dark underworld of Dallas's most dangerous drug cartel (The Washington Post).

2021 Edgar Award Nominee - G.P. Putnam's Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award Not much can make Detective Betty Rhyzyk flinch. But when forced into therapy, a desk assignment, and domestic bliss following a terrifying run-in with an apocalyptic cult, she's having trouble readjusting to life as it once was. At home, she struggles to connect with her loving wife, Jackie. At work, someone has been assassinating confidential informants. To make matters worse, Betty's partner seems to be increasingly dependent on the painkillers he was prescribed for injuries he sustained narrowly rescuing her.

Betty's at the point of breaking when she decides to go rogue, on a chase that 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.

"A labyrinth of a police procedural punctuated by non-stop action . . . Gripping." --Associated Press

Review Quotes

"A gripping, powerfully human procedural"--Booklist

"A suspenseful mystery right up until the end --- and an effective exploration of trauma and its ongoing repercussions, not only for survivors but also for those who care about, and for, them."--BookReporter

"Deeply satisfying . . . [Betty is] an obsessive, borderline unstable, fascinating, Brooklyn-born seeker of truth. . . . With Betty Rhyzyk, Kathleen Kent brings those mean streets to life as excitingly as anybody has in years."--The Washington Post

"Gripping . . . Briskly paced, The Burn barely allows the reader to take a breath as believable twists careen throughout."--Oline Cogdill, Associated Press

"Harsh, violent reality is the daily fare for Dallas police detective Betty Rhyzyk, the narrator of Kathleen Kent's satisfying The Burn."-- The Wall Street Journal

"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)

"Kent's Dallas setting is so meticulously drawn that one can practically smell the streets, the sour odor of the street people. All of her characters are memorable, and not a single one, even the minor characters, is less than three dimensional."--NewYork Journal of Books

"Terrific... Kent's own ability to avoid predictable outcomes and keep the reader on edge bodes well for future installments in this series."--Chicago Tribune

PRAISE FOR THE DIME:
"Exciting [and] moving... Grisly but likable."--The Wall Street Journal

About the Author

Kathleen Kent is the author of the Edgar Award-nominated TheDime, as well as three bestselling historical novels: The Heretic's Daughter, TheTraitor'sWife, and The Outcasts. Kent lives in Dallas, TX.