A review by kat2112
The Fractal Murders by Mark Cohen

4.0

The premise, to the non-mathematical type, may at first sound like a groaner. Lawyer-turned-private eye Pepper Keane of Colorado accepts what seems like an unsolvable case of three murders. His client, the no-nonsense math professor Jayne Smyers, is convinced the deaths of three peers is related to their expertise in fractal geometry, which she goes on to explain in great detail. Even Pepper, it seems, is scratching his head.

Nonetheless, the action that ensues in THE FRACTAL MURDERS is guaranteed to grab the interest of any mystery lover, science-minded or otherwise. Pepper's analytical mind ticks constantly as his research takes him all over the country and unfolds a conspiracy involving much more than fractals and parallelograms.

THE FRACTAL MURDERS is a well-structured procedural supported by a strong cast of recruited apprentices (hippie neighbors, beleaguered FBI agents, and giddy teacher assistants to name a few), and injected with the right amount of humor and romance to lend a sense of realism to the story. An open ending leaves room for a welcome sequel; to leave readers with just one Pepper Keane mystery just wouldn't add up.