Cops in Oakland seldom meet people whose lives are going well. That's certainly the case when homicide sergeant Matt Sinclair recognizes the dead woman hanging from a tree as a teenage runaway named Dawn he arrested ten years before. And as Sinclair and his partner, Cathy Braddock, soon learn, many of Dawn's clients, not to mention the local and federal officials who protect them, will go to any length to keep the police from digging too deep into her past.
Then the killer goes public, and Sinclair and Braddock must race to uncover the secrets Dawn was killed to protect before the killer unleashes a major attack on a scale the city has never seen before.
With Thrill Kill, Brian Thiem, a veteran of the Oakland Police Department and the Iraq war, has penned a nuanced police procedural that could only be written by a trained detective with years of hard-earned experience.
Praise for Thrill Kill:
"Thiem’s hard-hitting...portrayal of a decent man’s efforts to uphold civilization in a decaying urban jungle rings all too disturbingly true."
—Publishers Weekly starred review
"Another satisfying read in a top-notch new series. Be well, Detective Sinclair, and come back soon. We need you."
—Booklist
"Thiem’s tough-but-tender hero’s dedication to a routine so grueling it feels authentic puts the procedure back in procedural."
—Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Red Line:
"Thiem skillfully guides the realistic action to the unexpected ending. Readers will want to see more of his richly drawn main character."
—Publishers Weekly
"This hard-edged beauty makes reviewers think maybe they’ve been too nice to all those suffering cop/lawyer/PI types who swarm the genre...none are as interesting as Sinclair’s psy-war with the world."
—Booklist
“Some books require a few pages to really get going. Such is NOT the case with Brian Thiem’s gripping police procedural...Red Line is that good...[Thiem] knows prose. He knows characters and drama. He understands suspense, its power and how to wield it. He knows police life grit. Fictional latitude and realism huddle happily here.”
—Noir Journal
"A compelling read from beginning to end, Red Line is very highly recommended."
—Midwest Book Review
"[Thiem’s] skill as a story teller makes me look forward to more. Reading this book was not unlike the thrill you get when a car takes off with the pedal to the floor."
—Crimespree Magazine
"The real deal—and one that could only be written by a cop. This street-wise police procedural offers readers a unique and inside view of the high-stress, high-stakes search for the bad guys."
—Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony, Macavity, and Mary Higgins Clark award-winning author of Truth Be Told
“Brian Thiem hits the bull’s-eye in his true-to-life debut. A mystery with authenticity, grit, drama—Red Line has it all. A gripping police procedural from a real pro.”
—Robert Dugoni, #1 Amazon and NYT bestselling author of My Sister’s Grave
