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Freeze Frame: The Fourth of the Enzo Files

Peter May
Poisoned Pen Press (2010)
ISBN 9781590586945
Reviewed by Enid Grabiner for RebeccasReads.com (11/09)

Whenever a book starts with chapters seemingly unrelated to the plot, it is that nagging desire on the part of the reader to connect them to the storyline.  Such is the case of “Freeze Frame” by Peter May.  A fleeing man in Germany in 1951 and an earthquake in Morocco in 1960 are somehow tied to a murder on an island in Brittany in 1990.  Enzo MacLeod, a Scottish forensics specialist teaching in France, who boasts he can solve cold cases of crimes showcased in a book written by journalist Roger Raffin is up for the task.  There are seven of them and this is the 4th in the series.

Adam Killian, a sixty-eight year old retired professor of tropical medical genetics and an entomological hobbyist was found murdered in his study on the Ile de Groix 20 years ago.  Events surrounding the crime are quite puzzling. Just prior to his murder, he placed an alarming call to Jane, his daughter-in-law, imploring her to leave his study untouched in the event anything happens to him.  He has left his son Peter a cryptic series of clues that would reveal his attacker’s identity.  Peter unfortunately is killed in an accident before his return and Jane still continues to honor the request that the study remain intact.

Enzo arrives on the island with hopes of solving the mystery.  He finds the community replete with secrets and resentments. He discovers that innocuous Adam was rapidly dying of cancer and that belligerent Kerjean, the man tried and found innocent of the murder, is still a suspect in the minds of the townspeople.

Jane allows Enzo to stay in the house’s annex where Adam had his study so he could immerse himself in the untouched scene of the crime.  Bit by bit he starts to put pieces together connecting the clues and the people to their shaded pasts while exposing his own personal struggles as well.

The title of this book, “Freeze Frame,” is clever as it describes the scene of the crime frozen in time, but also unexpectedly as it relates to one of the clues.  The twist reflects the mystery itself.  Just as the reader thinks he has it, there is a surprising turn of events. This mystery is rich in story development and characterization.  While the crime is solved in the end, Enzo’s past is slowly revealed and his future hinted at, enticing the reader to become a fan of this cerebral series.


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