Reviewed by MARGARET CANNON
Book: Brother Grimm by Craig Russell

This is the second novel by Russell set in Hamburg and featuring Inspector Jan Fabel of the Hamburg Murder Squad. The first book, Blood Eagle, introduced the major characters in the squad; most of them are carried over into this novel, and a couple more added. No one can accuse Russell of backsliding; this second book is as solidly researched and carefully plotted as the first.

Fabel has a murder on his hands. The corpse is a young girl, strangled and then posed in a park. The only clue to her identity is a small piece of paper, with even smaller writing, that refers to "underground people." Her general description and age fit a young girl kidnapped three years before, and Fabel and his team start with those bereaved parents. Then there's one plot twist and another. Before the reader (and Fabel) can catch up, there are two more murders, also with notes and messages. Fabel's only clue is a novel in which one of the Brothers Grimm is a serial killer -- very much like the one who's out there, fulfilling a fantasy that Fabel can't understand.

Brother Grimm is a novel to be read for thrills and chills, and those it delivers.