Plain Jane by Caroly McCray
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Carolyn McCray has hit another one out of the park with her Harbinger series. “Plain Jane” is a combination of Sherlock Holmes meets Hannibal Lecter. Beginning with the short story “Anatomy”, the prequel to “Plain Jane” is a must read to truly appreciate the relationships of the characters. The characters are well developed and the interaction between them is so believable it is sometimes hard to accept they aren’t real people.
FBI consultant Kent Harbinger is so sexy and oddly disturbed that I was torn between lusting after him and wanting to run away as fast as I could. McCray has managed to make him dangerously desirable while leaving enough of his physical appearance out of the mix. As for Nicole Usher I alternated feelings of envy and sympathy. While I developed a soft spot for Ruben Torres I just couldn’t muster up the same passion for him that I had for Harbinger. Yet throughout the book part of me rooted for him to solve the crime and get the girl.
The story has more twists and turns than a dark country road and I wanted to keep riding along all night. Each chapter brought a new shock and each shock made me hungry for more. McCray delivered. I was awake until 4:00 AM and even after I finished reading I lay in the dark going over the story in my head.
“Plain Jane” is a brilliant and frightening story that will keep even the most dedicated mystery reader on his toes. It has an amazing surprise ending that left me with my mouth hanging open. While definitely not a tale for the squeamish it is not so gory it grossed me out. Still I don’t think I’ll look at a needle and thread quite the same way. I hope Ms McCray continues the adventures of this group of detectives or I’ll have to re-read “Plain Jane” at least once a month.
Between the Beats 