Description: Deputy District Attorney Samantha Kincaid finds herself caught in the middle of an increasingly personal--and potentially dangerous--struggle between Portland's police and the DA's office, as she investigates the brutal murder of a hotshot journalist. Martin's Press.
Brief description: A former deputy district attorney in Portland, Oregon, Alafair Burke now teaches criminal law at Hofstra School of Law and lives in Long Island, New York. The daughter of the acclaimed crime writer James Lee Burke, she is the author of the Samantha Kincaid series, including Judgment Calls and Missing Justice.
Review Quotes:
"Samantha Kincaid . . . battles the system to solve a puzzling homicide. Daughter of crime writer James Lee Burke and herself a former deputy D.A., the author keeps the plot hurtling along."
--People Magazine
--Chicago Sun-Times "Samantha Kincaid makes a welcome return in Close Case . . . As in Burke's past books, seemingly simple legal cases become anything but cut-and-dried, and their consequences are always intriguing." --The Seattle Times "This is clearly an insider's view, authority riding on every sentence. The plot dazzles and tantalizes. . . . Adultery, murder, community activists, and Sam's dogged rock-the-boat tactics keep you glued to every line. Nothing is as it seems amid legal shenanigans and police camaraderie, and the shocks of the plot stun. The Burkes have become a dynasty."
--The Providence Journal "Alafair Burke upholds her family reputation for top-notch mystery writing . . . There is a lot more investigating and personal back story than courtroom drama in Close Case. . . . Burke tells the story with great style."
--Omaha World-Herald "She's tough, clever and cantankerous as hell . . . In short, Samantha Kincaid is a pain in the butt . . . Burke has good storytelling in her genes . . . More please."
--The Guardian "Burke delivers a fast-moving story of race and drugs and politics and prosecutors and cops and reporters--and how the volatile mix plays out on urban streets."
--Times-Picayune "This novel brims with intelligence and suspense."
--Tucson Citizen "Burke hits her stride . . . [A] big, bustling canvas with plausible moral dilemmas for Samantha and surprises that are still popping on the final pages."
--Kirkus Reviews "With this effort, Burke has found a compelling voice for protagonist Samantha Kincaid, while offering a plot with the kind of headlong rush that's the attraction of the genre . . . Kincaid possesses a winning combination of sweetness and vulnerability that's rather refreshing--and almost unheard of in such mysteries."
--Willamette Week