“Five Cold Bodies” by K.J. Kalis was the third in the Detective Max Grady series but was OK as a stand-alone.
Buckhead County sits just outside of Pittsburgh. The mostly rural county has its share of crimes, but when murder occurs Sheriff Kyler Holt reaches out to the Pittsburgh PD for help.
Detective Max Grady and his partner Detective Cassie Reynolds arrive at the secluded farm where two bodies were discovered. The male victim died of multiple stab wounds sometime before the female was killed by blunt force to her head.
With help from the coroner, they get IDs and notify Jasmine Parker’s parents. The devastated couple has helpful information. Their next stop is the home of Ryan and Bethany Hubbard. They are met by a very pregnant Bethany, who seems to be expecting bad news.
She tells them that Ryan had a history of cheating and she feared that was why he hadn’t come home the day before. The detectives decide to spare the distraught woman the pain of knowing that Jasmine was pregnant, too.
The day had started on a sour note for Grady. He had buried his mother that morning, wondering if she had acquired pain meds laced with fentanyl by accident or was it a way to end her pain filled life?
Grady’s memories are a collage of his father’s frequent rages and his mother suffering terrible beatings. Sadly, Grady’s older brother, Ben, was mentally challenged but strong and prone to violence. Ben now lives in a care home where he is kept calm and happy. As much as Grady wants to share his grief with Ben, he knows that it could send Ben into a destructive rage.
Only Cassie is aware of Grady’s lonely pain and questions. She’s known him long enough to deal with his moods. Lt. Williams doesn’t understand Grady and orders him to either take bereavement leave or work and solve the Buckhead murders. Grady chooses work.
They learn that both Jasmine and Ryan worked for Roadways Transportation. A visit to owner Bryce Holloway confirmed that Ryan and Jasmine were an item.
Soon the story is fulfilling the promise of the book’s teaser that “bodies are dropping faster than he can track them.The killer is outmaneuvering them, sticking to the shadows and giving him nothing to work with — no evidence, no DNA and no suggestion of who they are or why they are on a killing spree.”
Time is running out.
After the mystery is revealed, the book ends with Grady trying to understand his mother’s death and how to move forward with his own life and career.
AT A GLANCE
Book: Five Cold Bodies (Detective Max Grady, Book 3)
Author: K.J. Kalis
Publisher: BDM LLC
Year published: 2023
Number of pages: 332
Detective team grapple with killing spree
