|
Lisa Scottoline's latest story starts out with a bang --- literally --- and is off and running. Vicki Allegretti loves her new job with the United States Attorney's office. Cracking down on crime is a passion with her --- fresh, young and eager prosecutor that she is. Her official job may be to convict the bad guys, but when the cops move too slowly to suit her, she can't sit back and wait for the evidence to simply fall into her lap.
In order to speed things along, she strikes out on her own, determined and more than a little fearful. But when Vicki finds herself too close to the wrong end of a gun, she gets really angry. When she meets her informant in what should have been a small-time case, things go horribly wrong. She barely escapes with her life. Two others don't.
Reeling with survivor's guilt after the murders, Vicki struggles to understand how things got so out of control. Reevaluating the case seems like a good place to start. She needs to figure out why anyone would take such a big risk for so little apparent benefit. Unfortunately, Vicki's methods turn out to be too unconventional for her boss and she finds her job in serious jeopardy. Naturally, she is nervous about her employment, but that doesn't stop her.
Nor does her old friend Dan. Married but unhappy, Dan starts to drop by Vicki's house more and more often. While she loves his company, it makes surreptitious snooping difficult. She knows that he wouldn't condone her unauthorized probing. And then there's another complication: Dan is about to become her new boss. Of course, this doesn't stop her either.
Vicki forms an unlikely bond with a person of dubious character in the case. Together, they spend long hours doing some detective legwork: a bit of surveillance here, a witness contact there, dragging out old files and combing through them. The brass wouldn't like it one bit, so keeping a low profile becomes doubly necessary. Then, when the outline of a conspiracy starts to take shape, Vicki doesn't know who to trust or who to turn to. Tightening ranks with her new ally looks like the best bet. What they unearth together staggers even the most jaded among law enforcement.
Witty dialogue and robust characters turn the page for you. You don't have to worry about staying up all night with this novel; you'll be finished before bedtime. Yes, it rolls along that fast.
--- Reviewed by Kate Ayers
 Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.
Click here to get the audiobook from Audible.com.
© Copyright 1996-2008, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
Back to top.
|
