Ji FU reviewed The Case of the Claw by Keith R. A. DeCandido (Super City Cops, #1)
Hokey cops investigate super heroes.
3 stars
I liked this book. It was kind of hokey, but if you go in knowing that its fine for what it is. It was supposed to the be first book in a series that never got a sequel, so apparently not too many others liked it. It's the first work I'm aware of DeCandido did of his own, rather than the media-tie-in fiction is more well known. He's one of my favorites Start Trek authors.
The book revolves around the Super city Police Department. The city is so called because they have more superheroes than any one town in the D.C. universe ever did. Unlike Commissioner Gordon, the cops of the SCPD hate the superheroes, or "the costumes" a derogatory term they use. The cops get stuck trying to prove that Super villains are actually guilty of the crime that the superheroes have stopped them from doing, but of …
I liked this book. It was kind of hokey, but if you go in knowing that its fine for what it is. It was supposed to the be first book in a series that never got a sequel, so apparently not too many others liked it. It's the first work I'm aware of DeCandido did of his own, rather than the media-tie-in fiction is more well known. He's one of my favorites Start Trek authors.
The book revolves around the Super city Police Department. The city is so called because they have more superheroes than any one town in the D.C. universe ever did. Unlike Commissioner Gordon, the cops of the SCPD hate the superheroes, or "the costumes" a derogatory term they use. The cops get stuck trying to prove that Super villains are actually guilty of the crime that the superheroes have stopped them from doing, but of course all the evidence has been vaporized, and the heroes refuse to testify as it might damage their brand, or worse yet reveal their secret identify.
On top of that they get stuck uber nerds who think they can become their own superheroes, or super villains, and more often than not get themselves hurt.
The Claw is a serial murder who seems to show up ever 2 years or so and kill many people and then go into hiding. He seems to slice open his victims using a giant eagle talon, and since all the victims have the same DNA it would appear they are not copycat crimes.
A long and winding tale, complete with abusive husbands, cranky neighbors, and the like, we end up learning the criminal is an unlikely member of the community, but looking back on it a few days later, it actually should have been pretty obvious that is who it would have been.
Marvel has done many similar stories over the years of how the courts and insurance and the like deal with the aftermath of superheroes, if you want a previously unlicensed version, this one is for you.