|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
There's a convention of criminal defense attorneys being held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Cleveland, where Rachael McLean, daughter of forensic scientist Theresa McLean, is working for the summer. One of the attorneys, Marie Corrigan, is found murdered in the executive suite. There aren't too many people mourning her death, as she was a lying manipulator. When two other DAs are killed in similar circumstances, the mystery deepens—who is feeling a need to "kill all the lawyers"? It's Theresa McLean's job to collect forensic evidence from the crime scenes. The setting presents an incredible, almost impossible, challenge. How many people have been in any hotel room, much less the hallways and stairwells? Trying to find any useful information is like searching for a needle in a field of haystacks. Theresa is more personally involved than she usually is on the job; she fears that her daughter is in danger as well. Could the dubious young man that she is interested in be the murderer? The idea of using a hotel setting for a forensics investigation is an interesting one. However, too much of the narrative was dedicated to the processes used for each of the victims. There was a lot of redundancy, which had a negative impact on the pacing of the book. The major strength is in the depiction of the lead character. Obviously, McLean is an extremely skillful and dedicated forensic scientist. However, she has difficulty in separating her professional and personal lives and is excessively overprotective of her adult daughter. DEFENSIVE WOUNDS is the fourth in the Theresa McLean series. Those who enjoy a heavy dose of forensics will appreciate this book. § Formerly a training development manager for a large company, Maddy is now retired and continues to enable the addiction of crime fiction fans as owner of the online discussion group, 4 Mystery Addicts(4MA), while avidly reading in every possible free moment herself.
Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, September 2011
[ Top ]
QUICK SEARCH:
Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]
| 
