Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Homicide Chart / V.S. Kemanis


Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Legal Thriller

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words

Availability    
Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: NO
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

An ex-California girl, V.S. Kemanis is now a New York based attorney. In addition to the prior Dana Hargrove legal mystery, she has three collections of short stories available.

For more, visit the author’s website.

Description:

“Prosecutor Dana Hargrove has left those rookie days of Thursday’s List far behind. It’s 1994, and the murder rate in New York City is sky high. Dana belongs to an elite cadre of prosecutors on the “homicide chart,” that 24/7 roster of on-call responders to murder scenes. Her next turn on the chart comes at a bad time, during an exhausting week of courtroom battles. A surprise witness of dubious credibility has surfaced, threatening to undermine her recently-won murder conviction against a reputed gang member. Back on the chart, Dana receives a call in the middle of the night, plunging her into a new murder investigation that hits dangerously close to home—a case that will change her life forever.”

Appraisal:

The first Dana Hargrove book, Thursday’s List, took place in the ‘80s. In Homicide Chart the timeline moves up several years, 1994 to be exact. Dana has a lot more experience as a prosecutor, not to mention the additional responsibility and pressure from a caseload made up of murder prosecutions. To top it off, she now has a young son whose care she juggles with the help of her husband and a nanny.

This story focuses on two homicide cases, one with a gang member already on trial and another where Dana has a personal stake. With a couple minor exceptions (a detour for some unneeded backstory on a minor character and unneeded repeating of some additional backstory regarding Dana’s mother-in-law), the story is well written. There was plenty of mystery and intrigue that kept me guessing how the two cases would resolve. A worthwhile read that left me eager to see what comes next for Dana.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.


Rating: **** Four Stars

No comments: