
by Lisa Black
3.5 of 5.0 stars
This is the first [author:Lisa Black|115085] I've read. The detective is Theresa MacLean and this is her fourth appearance in Black's forensic crime novels.
The story kept me turning the pages. I was intrigued by the details and I love that Black is actually a former forensic scientist. Bringing in that knowledge gives a lot of credibility to the story. But I must not be seeing clearly enough here...why defensive wounds? Hmmm...
The first 80% of the book, to me, was more dynamic and "tighter" while the end felt like she may have been making up facts around her plot. If that makes sense.
The story revolves around a convention at the Cleveland Ritz full of defense attorneys and there is A LOT of emphasis placed on this crowd being the bottom feeders of society basically. But even if that rings true with the police and the detectives, I am still finding it hard to swallow the level of hate. I mean people were "happy" to see someone die? That threw me off from the beginning...the thought of someone enjoying another's death and they weren't the bad guys. In fact, they were supposed to be the good guys. Maybe this happens, maybe.
Overall, I am totally looking forward to reading my next Lisa Black novel; I imagine I'll read them all! Her writing is already so terrific on just her fourth work and I think by now - in 2017 - she's got like 20. So the 3.5 stars aren't more because I just know she'll get better.
But she did put together quite a complex story with a good cast of characters that despite the aforementioned problems, I am looking forward to reading their next case!
The rest I have to say will include spoilers though. Keep reading by clicking on 'Read More'!
I also got frustrated on more than one occasion when Theresa - who is a seasoned detective - does not see the simple things around her that the readers are privy to. Like the fellow detective, Neil, gave so many signs of suspicion yet she is almost in bed with the guy. That's odd.
And she's such a stickler on others not breaking rules - even including the defense attorneys who embellish their stories and she is so by the book. But she's not, is she? She gleans information from sealed juvenile court records; she is getting down with her super suspicious partner; she is visiting the home of the mother of a girl that had been murdered by the boy now dating her daughter. Speaking of...how can a detective who has seen so much death and rape and murder have a daughter who simply ignores her time and time and (ugh) time again. Really? And why would she - and others - keep visiting an unsafe, unfinished observation deck 700 feet above the city? And, why after one murder - let alone two - does the Ritz not have a) better security, b) CAMERAS installed, etc. These are the types of things that appear in at the end of the book that just seem like she's coming up with ideas that are really not plausible just because she knows what her end game is.
Lastly, if you hadn't figured out who the murderer was long before the end, then this book should be a 5-star for you! I thought it was obvious. Although I teetered on Coral being responsible and/or Neil. And guess what? Super spoiler alert - they ALL were. Wow.
End of spoiler.
Born Cleveland, OH, The United States
Website http://www.Lisa-Black.com
Genre Mystery & Thrillers, Crime, Suspense
Influences Ellery Queen, P.D. James, Lisa Gardner
URL www.goodreads.com/LisaBlackAuthor
Lisa Black spent the happiest five years of her life in a morgue. Strange, perhaps, but true. After ten years as a secretary, she went back to school to get a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Cleveland State University. In her job as a forensic scientist at the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office, she analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes.
She had her life sorted out just the way she liked it until her husband got fed up with Cleveland snow and moved them to Florida, 1400 miles away from her family and her career. Not that she’s bitter or anything. Now she works as a latent print examiner for the city of Cape Coral, Florida, police department, working mostly with fingerprints and crime scenes.
Lisa has lectured at writer’s conventions and appeared on panels. In her life as a writer she’s a member of Sisters In Crime, Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. In her life as a forensic specialist she’s a member of the American Academy of Forensic Scientists, the International Association for Identification, the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts and is certified by the American Board of Criminalistics. She has had over 741 hours of instruction in forensic topics and has testified in over 50 trials.