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Before we start, I'd just like to point out that I can't compare Alafair Burke to her crime-writing father James, as I've never read any of his books. All I can say, though, is that she looks well set to have a successful career of her own. MISSING JUSTICE is the second book starring deputy district attorney Samantha Kincaid. I haven't read the first, JUDGMENT CALLS, but there's just enough back story in the new book to establish why Samantha's a touch edgy at times after an attempt on her life. She's also been promoted into the Major Crimes Unit in Portland, Oregon, and rapidly realises that the new girl (or boy) gets stuck with the unglamorous grunt work until they prove themselves. So it's a stroke of luck, then, that she's on the spot when city judge Clarissa Easterbrook is reported missing. Even when police think they've solved the crime, though, Samantha refuses to let the matter drop and keeps poking sticks into bushes to see what crawls out. In lots of ways there's not a lot new to what Burke is writing . . . feisty, ambitious heroine with a failed marriage and current ambivalent relationship with a cop; an over-protective father with his own secrets, and corruption at the highest level. And there's a tendency for the action to plod a bit at times -- the middle section certainly sags. But on the whole I liked what I read, and Samantha is a sparky enough character, particularly when she's sparring with slimy ex-husband Roger Kirkpatrick and current beau Chuck Forbes. And there's a well-rounded supporting cast lurking around, including cops, colleagues, best friends and suspects. I also rather liked the running gag about Samantha's office chair. Burke, a former deputy district attorney herself, and now a law lecturer, balances the legal bumf with an ability to get the action out of the courtroom and offices and into the street. Definitely one to watch.
Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, June 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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