Guilt by Degrees

Starred review from March 19, 2012
Near the start of Clark’s exemplary second legal thriller featuring Los Angeles deputy DA Rachel Knight (after 2011’s Guilt by Association), a judge dismisses charges against a man suspected of stabbing a homeless person to death because an arrogant colleague of Knight’s failed to adequately prepare for the preliminary hearing. The key eyewitness to the murder recants on the stand. Determined to seek justice for the victim, Knight hits the streets, along with her best buddy, LAPD Det. Bailey Keller, to seek leads on the identities of both the killer and the dead man. As the convoluted story unfolds, the significance of the gory prologue, in which someone takes an axe to a guy named Zack in his basement workshop, gradually becomes clear. Clark humanizes her tough lead, and gets the mixture of action and investigative legwork just right, more than making the case for a long life for this West Coast analogue to Linda Fairstein’s Alex Cooper.

May 15, 2012
From former L.A. Prosecuting Attorney Clark (the O.J. Simpson case), an engaging revisit to Rachel Knight, L.A. prosecuting attorney. Rachel Knight (Guilt by Association, 2011), star performer in L.A.'s elite Special Trials Unit, is famous for not suffering fools lightly. And for mouthiness. Those who love Rachel delight in the volatility implied here since her periodic explosions have in the past transmuted the dull and ordinary into the bright stuff of legends. Those who do not love Rachel--the always "carefully coiffed," ever resentful Brandon Averill, for instance--mutter, sputter and often enough find icky little ways to complicate her life, even if inadvertently. So it is on the day Averill's prosecutorial ineptitude adds a botched case to Rachel's already jampacked list. It turns out, however, that the case has unexpected permutations, challenging to put it mildly. Seemingly routine at first, it involves the murder of an unidentified homeless man, another way of saying back burner. But when John Doe becomes Simon Bayer, younger brother of a police officer brutally slain a year earlier, Rachel has on her hands a homicide of a far different color. As always when difficulties loom--knotty professional issues, gnarly romantic entanglements--she calls on the small support cohort she thinks of as her "besties": Det. Bailey Keller, tough, smart and gorgeous; and counselor Toni LaCollette, tough, smart, black and gorgeous. As the investigation deepens, the Bayer case assumes a mazelike pattern with frustrated Rachel always at least one twist behind--until suddenly, shockingly, she gets the insight that changes everything. The shrewd, coldblooded, elusive killer Rachel's been pursuing up to now has developed an interesting new target: Rachel. No sophomore jinx for Clark. Her second girlfriend novel, counterpart to the buddy novel, is serious fun.

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April 1, 2012

Clark brings back Los Angeles DA Rachel Knight in this sequel to her well-received debut, Guilt by Association. This new book opens with a gruesome murder of a cop followed by the street killing of a homeless man. Knight is soon following a treacherous path to find the killer, dodging department politics along the way. We learn more about Knight's disturbing childhood and her love life, as her gal pals--a fellow district attorney and a badass cop--share their work and their lives, bringing additional depth to the tale. But it is the antagonist, a psychopath with a brutal backstory and nerves of steel, who dominates the show. VERDICT Well-developed characters and a story arc that leaves the reader hanging are a surefire way to bring fans back for the next installment, and Clark has wisely left that door wide open. Should appeal to fans of Lisa Scottoline and David Baldacci. [See Prepub Alert, 11/7/11.]--Stacy Alesi, Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., Boca Raton, FL

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 15, 2012
This sequel to her remarkably accomplished debut, Guilt by Association (2010), proves that former prosecutor Clark is no one-book wonder. Here L.A. deputy district attorney Rachel Knight takes the case of a homeless man killed on a busy street in broad daylight only to discover that it's linked to the brutal ax murder of a police officer two years earlier. As Knight and her close friend, LAPD detective Bailey Keller, chase the case and identify the victim as the brother of the murdered officer, suspicion points to Lilah Bayer, the officer's wife, who was acquitted of the crime. In the midst of all this, Knight is shocked to learn that her boyfriend, police lieutenant Graden Hales, has been probing at the childhood traumathe unsolved kidnapping of her older sisterthat she has held secret for decades. So Knight must deal with her own past and interoffice backstabbing as well as retaliation that becomes increasingly personal and violent. Clark has a winning cast of characters, a strong plot, and plenty of smart and sassy dialogue (particularly when Knight and her BFFs gather for after-work martinis), and she heightens interest in Knight's next appearance by establishing the psychopathic Bayer as her nemesis. A superlative series bringing together elements of both legal thrillers and police procedurals. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Clark's debut was something of a surprise success, both commercially and critically, but her publisher will hit the ground running this time, with an A-list marketing campaign.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

Starred review from July 30, 2012
In Clark’s latest, Los Angeles Deputy DA Rachel Knight and her best gal pal, homicide detective Bailey Keller, struggle to solve the murder of a homeless man. Complicating their investigation: the victim’s identity is unknown. Additionally, Rachel has to deal with a vain, lazy co-worker who resents her, a relentless hit man who’s stalking her, a very clever villain who wants her dead, and a boyfriend who doesn’t know what he wants. January LaVoy turns in an energized, standout performance. Knight’s insouciant attitude hides the fact that she’s playing for keeps, and LaVoy perfectly captures this. Totally in tune with Clark’s zingy prose, LaVoy seems to be channeling Knight. And listeners will feel as if they’re sitting down with the tenacious DA as she recalls all the things—some weird (it’s L.A., she keeps reminding us), some thrilling, some happy, some sad—that happened during her most recent case. Like any good conversationalist, LaVoy’s version of Knight makes delightful company. A Mulholland hardcover.