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Marcia Clark's first novel, GUILT BY ASSOCIATION, is a legal thriller worth reading. Clark creates a protagonist, Rachel Knight, who feels very real. Perhaps it is not strange that this character is so clearly drawn. Rachel is an assistant DA in LA, a job Clarke is quite familiar with, as she was the lead prosecutor in the OJ Simpson trial. Rachel is assigned to an elite unit, the Special Trials Division, which means that her job involves a lot of investigation as well as judicial work. Rachel does many things that push the boundaries of legality, and one wonders if this is the way things are really done, or the way Clarke wishes she could do things. This is not what is called a "women's book," but all of the main characters are women. Knight has female friends who are extremely cool and know her well. There is Toni, a fellow prosecutor, and Bailey, a police investigator. They hang out, help each other, and work together on the cases. Rachel worries about what to wear and she is always watching her weight by ordering things like salads, and then eating off her friends' more interesting plates. A lot of down time is spent relaxing with a drink or two at various bars. One wonders if this alcohol- drenched life is a true reflection of how LA prosecutors spend their time—or again, if it is wishful thinking on Clark's part. There are some men in their lives, but commitment issues are rampant. Rachel seems to be getting involved with a very attractive detective, but we are not sure how sincere he is. And she did have a male partner, Jake, but he is dead within the first few pages of the book. He seems to have been the perpetrator of a murder-suicide with a teenage male prostitute in a sleazy motel. Rachel refuses to believe this about Jake, and is motivated to investigate his death, although she is officially barred from doing so. She is given one of his cases to investigate—the rape of a rich man's teenage daughter in the girl's own bed. While Rachel tries to track down the perpetrator, she also is looking for clues to Jake's death. She quickly becomes the target of malicious mischief when her car is covered with graffiti, and then she and Bailey seem to be the targets of a spray of bullets. Who is gunning for her and which case are they concerned about? Although this book has a lot going for it, the mystery itself is a bit convoluted and the ultimate culprits could be better set up. Also on the "things to be worked on" side, Clarke would do well to avoid some of the extremely topical references. Rachel compares something to the way Keith Olbermann feels about Bill O'Reilly. Olbermann no longer has a show, and this may be a totally opaque reference in the future. This book does set up characters and interactions that will work well if Clark decides to make this the first in a series of Rachel Knight mysteries. This reader, at least, would be happy to go back to the lives of the characters and see what is happening with them, with their unsolved cases, their relationships and their late nights at the bar. Anne Corey is a writer, poet, teacher and botanical artist in New York's Hudson Valley.
Reviewed by Anne Corey, April 2011
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