Screenwriter Scott Frost's first novel is enough to make a reader ask why he hasn't been indulging in the format long before this. The arts are similar but different. Frost's command of psychological motivation pays off handsomely in the literary format. His command of dramatic tension would apply to movies, as well. I've certainly become his fan after reading this character based serial killer story, and recommending it is no risk at all.

Alex Delillo is a fortiesh single mother of a teenager beautiful enough to be a finalist in the 2003 Rose Queen competition. Alex is also the Chief of Homicide for the Pasadena Division.

Just before she attends the contest hoping to see her Lacy take the crown, she discovers Lacy's application and two lies on it. The moral failure is not the only thing that makes it so bad -- it's the fact that her own daughter has become a stranger to her. The women of this household are worlds apart.

And, it gets worse. It turns out that Lacy is an activist for environmental causes, and just before the winner is announced, and just after Alex gets paged on a violent homicide, Lacy goes nuclear, spraying the audience from the stage with something in a dark plastic bottle and accusing everyone of poisoning the planet.

Alex rescues Lacy from the ensuing pandemonium and, despairing of any hope of restoring a bond with her daughter , goes on to investigate a violent death. It will be the first of several that are the work of a very dangerous serial killer who likes to set booby traps with bombs.

Lacy's longtime partner Traver is put into intensive care by stepping into one and Alex corrals Detective Harrison, a bomb expert, to help her chase the bomber down. Harrison reluctantly agrees and turns out a surprisingly astute choice. But the killer keeps several steps ahead of Alex's pursuit and, before they get anywhere near his apprehension, he raises the stakes explosively by capturing Lacy.

The pace that Frost sets is tight and breathtaking, the empathy with the vulnerable mother-detective palpable. The settings of L.A., from downtown to the Hollywood Hills (and, of course, Pasadena) are used and described as only a veteran Angeleno can (a shooting script will be a snap). The deceptions and twists are ingenious enough to keep you tensed up and guessing all the way to the last page. Quite a first effort.