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Most cops find ways to protect themselves from becoming emotionally involved in their cases by learning to distance themselves from the horrors that they see. Every once in a while, though, something will happen that will penetrate that emotional armor. For Seattle beat cop Sam Wright, that something is the death of a baby from malnourishment. The baby is found in a seedy hotel room, with no sign of its mother. What causes this case to resonate emotionally for Sam is the fact that he knows this baby. He's held this baby. He's comforted this baby. She's the child of a young woman who waited on him at The Donut Shop, a woman named Alberta Sanchez. He knows that Alberta cared for this baby, Olivia. And he's not ready to let Olivia' s death go into the records unnoticed without some attempt to find out what went so wrong. The logical place to start the investigation is at The Donut Shop. There 's no concern over the fact that an employee has disappeared. In fact, Sam finds that this is a very strange business, indeed. The owner, Pierre, is often gone from the premises. There are a lot of young men who just hang around the place, buying nothing. Fortunately for Sam, he befriends the new waitress, a young woman named Maria. Little does he know that Maria also has a connection to him. In fact, she has traveled from Alaska just to meet him and gotten the job because it's on Sam's beat. She serves as an informant to Sam and helps him to discover just what's going on besides doughnut making. And ultimately, she helps Sam to discover himself. First Avenue in the 1970s and 80s is a rundown area of Seattle that includes struggling businesses, an active marketplace, peep shows and a wide variety of people who are down on their luck. You'll meet drug dealers, prostitutes and homeless people. You'll also meet proud people and hard workers. You'll experience its sights, sounds and smells. It's truly a mixture of the best and worst that a city has to offer. Unfortunately, as a beat cop, Sam is usually dealing with the worst. And this case is truly looking even more detestable than usual when Sam discovers that some fellow police officers may be involved in whatever is going on. Sam isn't dealing with this case on his own. In addition to Maria, he's working with a homicide detective, other beat cops and a homeless man who's turning his life around. The book moves forward rapidly, carrying the reader along to a suspenseful action conclusion which is followed by a moving emotional resolution. Sam is a character that is fully realized. He's a bit of a loner in his personal life, with only a sometime relationship with a neighboring married woman to sustain him. He kayaks to work every day and is just a little burned out on his job. He's a sensitive man without being sappy about it. He writes poetry, some samples of which are included in the book. He is loyal and a friend. The other characters in the book are well drawn too. In addition to Maria, we meet a local restaurant owner named Silve who has been struggling to succeed for years and who tells enchanting stories of bygone times. Sam visits him almost every day and helps him in ways large and small. He befriends a homeless man who is fighting because someone took his shoes. Sam gives him his own shoes, and from that point they move forward in an unstated partnership. There's Detective Markowitz of homicide, the man who mentored Sam when he first joined the force. And fellow beat cop Katherine Murphy, a woman determined to make it in a male-dominated society. These are real human beings, not characters created to advance a plot. Clausen has written a great book. He's drawn upon his own experience as a Seattle beat cop to craft a compelling and powerful police procedural that doesn't have one false note. The characterization is superb; the setting is perfectly drawn. The plot is well developed, and the usual clichés are absent. The writing is smooth. I'm amazed to find that this is a first book. I predict that Clausen will have a long and successful writing career. I know that I will be the first one in line for any of his future offerings.
Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, June 2003
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