Freezer Burn
Free Book Review

Review by Queenie D

Free Book Review: Freezer Burn Book Summary

"You lucked out man, Madison here is at least as good as most of them, and better than a lot."
~ Johnson to Boone

Madison Cross has been a technician with Philadelphia's C.S.U. for a little less than a year. She's getting good at the job with the help of her mentor and friend, Tommy Parker, and is often called upon to assist with a case and ends up taking the lead.

After a deadly fire claims six lives and the resources of most of the team, Madison ends up working the scene of two suspicious murders. One, a young man thrown from a moving car, and the second, far more gruesome, of what appears to have been a young man cut up into many pieces and left in an old woman's trash can.

Her week is off to a rough start. Add on to that a crazy gunfight out in the sticks which she has to look into, and a few more bodies, and Madison is getting a little "in over her head."

What begins happening surprises everyone, all the way up to the Lieutenant (who happens to be Madison's Uncle Dave) because all these seemingly unrelated cases start showing some common threads. And they all lead back to one big, bad gangster, Ralph Caprielli.

While her professional life is chaotic, over-taxed, and a little on the tense side due to Madison having made some enemies of some very important people, her love life is also heating up with Matt Boone, the Chief in charge of the gunfight out in Lawson, PA. Add up all these events and Madison heads for a slam-bang, and somewhat surprising, end to a very complicated case that takes her deep into the dregs of Pennsylvania's organized crime.

Free Book Review: Freezer Burn Opinion

This book is NOT for the faint of heart!

Dublin's writing style and ability to write a twisty, complicated, surprise-ending mystery is right up there with the other bestsellers of our time. The difference I'm finding so far is that Dublin puts the challenge not only to our investigative minds but also to our queasy stomachs!

Philadelphia Weekly dubbed him "the newest of the blood bards" and that is the absolute truth. The crime scenes are graphic and revolting. If Dublin's goal is to produce a strong reaction in the reader then he has absolutely achieved this goal. You actually feel like you are right there along side Madison as she uncovers bloody body after bloody body - and some not so bloody but equally disgusting!

What I really liked about this book is that there was more to the story than just a graphic murder mystery. There are elements of family relationships and what they mean, the idea of how we come to terms with our past and perhaps our future, even in death, and definitely the theme of good police work versus bad police work and how easy it is for the wrong suspect to become the focus of an investigation.

Dublin has created a likeable character in Madison, one that readers will want to follow through the next adventure. I just hope he picks up where he left off and lets Madison stay happy with Boone a little while!

Although graphic, this book definitely has the potential to inspire a lively book club discussion because of all the underlying themes behind the plot. Just be sure to warn your club not to read this while eating!

Free Book Review: Freezer Burn Discussion Questions