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Shirley Kennett
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Gray Matter (The PJ Gray Series) Kindle Edition

by Shirley Kennett (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.5 3.5 out of 5 stars 13 ratings
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The riveting first entry in the acclaimed PJ Gray series, in which a police psychologist uses virtual reality forensics to solve a vicious series of homicides 
Penelope Jennifer “PJ” Gray is a recently divorced single mother living in St. Louis—and a psychologist turned cyber-profiler who heads the police force’s Computerized Homicide Investigations Project. By using virtual reality technology, Gray is able to get inside the heads of killers and reconstruct their crimes.  The action begins when a talented pianist is savagely murdered, his back carved with a drawing of a dog, his head missing. As similar deaths follow, Gray and her partner—an old-school, technophobe detective named Leo Schultz—must use their skills to trace the serial murderer. Gray Matter marks a brilliant crime-writing debut, as this electrifying story recalls Thomas Harris’s Hannibal Lecter novels.  
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  1. Book 1 of 5
    The PJ Gray Series
  2. Print length
    350 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    Open Road Media Mystery & Thriller
  6. Publication date
    October 30, 2012
  7. File size
    1883 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Kennett is a writer of rare skill, and Gray Matter is a deftly plotted novel bristling with suspense. A rip-roaring good read. Let’s see more of PJ Gray!” —John Lutz, author of Single White Female
“Kennett’s storytelling talents win out. Solid entertainment!” —Publishers Weekly
“Kennett’s devious creativity and bloodcurdling, realistic descriptive passages result in a terrifying and explosive thriller.” —Booklist
“Fans of Patricia Cornwell’s work will be hooked on this heart-stopping and harrowing thriller. The finely drawn characters in Gray Matter are both complex and terrifyingly convincing. Rated 4 (Excellent).” —Romantic Times
“Shirley Kennett is a polished and poised addition to the ranks of contemporary mystery writers. You’re going to enjoy her books.” —Mystery Scene Magazine

About the Author

Shirley Kennett is the author of the PJ Gray series of thrillers, which center on a psychologist and single mother who deploys virtual reality technology to solve homicides for the St. Louis Police Department. The novels in the series include Gray Matter, Fire Cracker, Chameleon, Act of Betrayal, and Time of Death. She is also the author of Burning Rose, a stand-alone environmental mystery. Under the pseudonym Dakota Banks, Kennett wrote the Mortal Path series of supernatural thrillers. She lives in Missouri. 

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B009O3ZOUK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media Mystery & Thriller (October 30, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 30, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1883 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 350 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.5 3.5 out of 5 stars 13 ratings

About the author

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Shirley Kennett

Shirley Kennett

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I've worn a number of hats, including those of corporate analyst, business systems programmer, independent computer consultant , and pet store employee (the one who cleans the cages), but my writer's hat is by far the most comfortable - and most satisfying - of them all. I've been a mystery fan as long as I can remember, which may have had something to do with growing up in a converted turn-of-the-century funeral home.

I've been involved with computers most of my life. In my consulting career, I focused on improving the quality of patient care through computerized clinical applications. Conducting business with clients around the country from my home office, I was a pioneer of telecommuting before the word was commonplace.

As Shirley Kennett, I write the PJ Gray series of suspense/police procedural novels and short stories. As Dakota Banks, I write the Mortal Path series of paranormal thrillers.

I'm a St. Louis native and a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the American Crime Writers League, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America,Horror Writers Association, and International Thriller Writers. My hobbies are reading (not surprising), gardening, and photography.

Customer reviews

3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5 out of 5
13 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

hgjones
5.0 out of 5 stars Gray Matter by Shirley Kennett
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2012
Gray Matter by Shirley Kennett
Open Road Integrated Media

This novel was recently released as an e-book and is the first of 5 books in the P K Gray series. Penelope Jennifer Gray, known as PJ, is a newly divorced psychologist and expert in computer simulation. She and her 12 year old son have just moved to St. Louis where she will be working for the St. Louis Police Department as head of a new division to use virtual reality(VR) to solve crimes, CHIP (Computerized Homicide Investigations Project). PJ is developing a software program that reenacts the crime using VR. The plan is to have several months to set up the program prior to actually using it. However, when a famous pianist is found dead, decapitated with his head missing and a strange craving of a dog on his back, she is assigned the case on her first day in the office.

PJ police partner is Leo Schultz, a veteran cop fast approaching retirement, who has been a desk jockey for several years. Schultz has no desire to have anything to do with computers or PJ but wants to return to field work. As more victims are discovered it becomes a race against time to identify and capture one of the worst serial killers of all time. PJ and Schultz work the case, using traditional police techniques and VR to enter the mind of the killer. The suspense becomes almost unbearable when PJ and Schultz make some serious mistakes and the killer realizes they are on to him.

The characters are very well developed, the relationships seem real, and the murders are very frightening and bloody. It is not difficult to visualize the crime scenes, but I could not put this book down. I read to the wee hours of the morning- good thing I am retired! I can't wait to read the other 4 books.
2 people found this helpful
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cmvaldes
2.0 out of 5 stars Previously published
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2013
Amazon has two listings for this book: one as the Kindle/Audiobook and one for the hardcover/paperback. I don't know why but it makes it more difficult to read all the reviews. As mentioned, this book was originally published in 1996. As such, it's dated information. The computer part of the story was not near as exciting or cutting-edge as it might have been in the late 90s. The characters are also one dimensional. Very little development and I never really cared for any of them. It's a good story and moves along at a brisk pace. Overall, a good but not great book. I will not be reading the remaining books in the series.
Disclaimer: I received the Kindle book in exchange for my honest review.
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icdbeez
4.0 out of 5 stars Serial Killer Seeking Talent
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2016
Shirley Kennett gets extra points for having an imaginative serial killer who selects victims based on their extraordinary talents, such as skiing, basketball, painting, piano and ballet. The killer is known from the beginning, actually from the first chapter. This is not a whodunnit, so you read about his work over multiple murders. The violence is not graphic, yet his unique personality makes the story.

Dr. Penelope Grey is running away from home, her cheating ex-husband and his new, bimbo wife; taking her son, Thomas, to start a new job with the St. Louis PD in a cooperative program where they will use her virtual reality simulation software and psychology degree to catch major criminals.

In 1996, VR was very much in its early stages, without much commercial uptake or ROI. There wasn't a 1 in a 1,000,000 chance you would get a police department to invest in VR without a finished product, product trials and a formal bidding process, AND a REAL NEED.

How many serial killers does St. Louis get in an average year? Not enough to support a dedicated VR program. What other crimes is it really suited for other than murder? Would the FBI BSU even spring for this in 1996? Unlikely.

It makes for a nice story to have VR used on a serial killer case, BUT, most of the early insights came from Dr. Grey's Artificial Intelligence software, which was mentioned in just a single sentence in the book. Now we are really out in tech implausibility-land here. This was written in the time of diskettes, modems and AoL. I just click on this software option, turning on my Artificial Intelligence and run my VR simulation in automatic mode. Gee whiz, what amazing human actions and objects have been added to my serial killer simulation. Thanks AI, you're the best app a girl could ever have.

Tech as magic. Where is that blasted software wand, anyway? Ash wood wand with a phoenix feather inside, bounded with titanium ferrules - the only kind you can use for high tech magic. It will take four, bloody days just to do the cleansing ritual for Artificial Intelligence, and don't get me started on the ingredients. Then what? I have to ... No way! Skyclad. I have to do what with the bat? An old man, three llamas and miles of copper wire? For how long? Not the fire again. Not even on your birthday!!! Go. Go Now.

If you are going to showcase bleeding edge tech in your book, then do it right. Don't give me pretty pictures with VR, then move the plot forward through vaporware. Most people won't catch it, but it ruins the story for those who do.

Of course, as Dr. Grey is a psychologist, there is also quite a bit of analyzing. She turns her spotlight less on the killer, more on herself, her partner, Detective Leo Schulz and her son - and frankly, everyone with whom she has a meaningful conversation. Often, she and Leo are so deep in their own personal Lalaland's, they miss the most obvious clues on the planet, Janet Smack you in the face, obvious. It gets to be funny, how oblivious these two trained professionals can be.

You don't read this book for the plot, the obvious predictability, the inspirational words or the technology. You read it for the killer: call him Mr. Gray Matter, Bad Dog or whatever else. He's worth it.

The killer is my favorite part of the book. He pulls the story through, where all the implausible bits don't. If Hannibal Lector had grown up a dirt poor, Southern boy instead of a part of the European aristocracy, my very unprofessional guess is that he would have ended up like Mr. Gray Matter. You'll have to read the book to compare and contrast.
Leave a comment. Tell me what you think.
2 people found this helpful
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Deb S.
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2016
Very entertaining, and I am looking forward to the next book.
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mommapat
1.0 out of 5 stars Upsetting book
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2014
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I had to stop reading this book. I got to about the 4th chapter, and it was too gory and very upsetting. I like to enjoy reading a book, and this clearly was not one that I could continue.
One person found this helpful
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nati
3.0 out of 5 stars Fiction no less
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2014
Verified Purchase
I didn't expect the ending. Of course it ends well but it borders on cannibalism with the murderer so morbid that made my stomach flipped and almost threw up.
2 people found this helpful
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PAS456
4.0 out of 5 stars Had a slow start
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2014
It took me some time to get into the book. However once into it I was hooked. I liked the two main characters. They had real emotions and actions. I will be reading more of Ms. Kennett's books.
One person found this helpful
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