As a law teacher and former deputy district attorney, Alafair Burke certainly knows her legal stuff - there's just too much of it. Yes, this is a legal thriller. But, it's all legal and no thrill. Every legal term, document, division, and procedure is explained in dry, tedious detail, all the way down to the nine-digit case number.
A rape case is going to be kicked to the general felony unit for prosecution, a dumping ground for cases not deemed serious enough for real lawyer work. The lead detectives convince Samantha Kincaid to prosecute instead, telling her, "...The suspects are bad, bad guys, Sammie."
Well, aren't they all.
THE CHARACTER SETUP IS TRANSPARENT AND UNREALISTIC. After a phone conversation with a lecherous superior, it's no surprise who the bad guy turns out to be. Then there's the two page, unrelated description of a closed case. So unrelated to what's going on at the moment that you know it will be related later on.
DIALOG IS DRY AND UNINSPIRED. When speaking to a group of panhandling kids:
"Why don't you guys hightail it out of here before [the mounted patrol] give you a hard time." The one I was pretty sure was Haley piped up. "What do you care?" "Honestly? I don't care whether you go to juvie or not. But the officers doing the rounds today are coming up on reporting time, and I got a bet with a buddy at the precinct that their unit's not going to meet their enforcement quotas this month. Listen to me or not. It's up to you."
When speaking with a potential witness:
Hands still on her hips, she rolled her eyes and laughed to let us know that the notion of cooperating with the police amused her. She nodded in my direction. "Yeah, and what's she here for, fit me for my Girl Scout uniform?" I had some damn good tacos going soggy on my desk. The last thing I needed was for some twit to patronize me, but I did my best to keep the anger out of my voice.
ATMOSPHERE IS NONEXISTENT. When told that the victim might again be in danger from her attacker: "I tried to calm down. ...Despite all the logical reasons not to worry, it was hard to concentrate, so I distracted myself by checking my bottomless voice mailbox."
After detailing (for two pages) the dating history and break up with a co-worker: "I set the table, blinking away tears before any could roll down."
Yawn.
I gave it 100 pages but couldn't see my way through another 235. I kept hoping it would start to live up to all the rave reviews from the likes of Lee Child, Sue Grafton, and the Washington Post. But I don't understand what all the hype is about, other than friends of her father giving glowing reviews just to be nice. Bad judgment calls on their part.