From Publishers Weekly
Anti-Semitism on the streets of L.A. draws homicide detective Jessica Drake, seen last in Fair Game, into disturbing investigations of both hate crimes and her own history. Attorney Barry Lewis, the son of Holocaust survivors, is fighting for White Alliance's right to march on Hitler's birthday, and he is paying the price-he and his wife are ostracized, he receives hate mail and calls and finds a blood-red Star of David and a death threat on his front door. Jessica grumbles about this corpseless case but, having Jewish relatives she has never met, becomes intrigued by what she learns about the Jewish community as she probes its members, including gentle Ezra Nathanson, his radical brother Joel Ben-Natan, and Barry's wife and parents-all of whom seem to have something to hide. After the parade, Barry tackles an even more controversial assignment and Jessica's work intensifies: the case finally gets its corpse. By subordinating mystery to message, Krich sacrifices the suspense that drove her earlier works, including Where's Mommy Now, but she offers her message in a creative way, and Jessica, other than taking a brainless risk to set up the finale, makes an engaging companion. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
From Booklist
Like her colleague, popular mystery writer Faye Kellerman, Krich uses her Jewishness as a rich and integral part of her novels' plots. Unlike Kellerman's Rina Lazarus, however, Krich's detective, Jessie Drake, is unaware of her own Jewish heritage until the LAPD assigns her to investigate a death threat against lawyer Barry Lewis. Although he's the son of concentration camp survivors, Lewis has agreed to defend the right of a neo-Nazi group to demonstrate in a Jewish neighborhood, and his family and friends are furious. What no one can guess is how violent the reaction to the situation will be, but even Jessie is stunned when the threats against Lewis turn into murder. Determined to find the killer whose crime was obviously fired by hatred and intolerance, Jessie is forced to confront some shocking surprises, not only about the murderer, but also about herself. This novel, well written, with an intriguing plot, offers both a good mystery and some provocative insights into the Jewish tradition and the effects of prejudice, hate, and fear.
Emily Melton
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
