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Summary
Summary
Los Angeles D.A. Rachel Knight is a tenacious, wise-cracking, and fiercely intelligent prosecutor in the city's most elite division. When her colleague, Jake, is found dead at a grisly crime scene, Rachel is shaken to the core. She must take over his toughest case: the assault of a young woman from a prominent family.
But she can't stop herself from digging deeper into Jake's death, a decision that exposes a world of power and violence and will have her risking her reputation -- and her life -- to find the truth.
With her tremendous expertise in the nuances of L.A. courts and crime, and with a vibrant ensemble cast of characters, Marcia Clark combines intimate detail, riotous humor, and visceral action in a debut thriller that marks the launch of a major new figure on the crime-writing scene.
Author Notes
Marcia Rachel Clark (nee Kleks), was born in 1953. She came to national prominence as the lead prosecutor in the notoriously high-profile criminal trial of O.J. Simpson in 1996. Prior to the trial, she had served the Los Angeles District Attorney's office for thirteen years, winning all her murder convictions.
Clark wrote Without A Doubt, a recount of the trial and the reasons for concluding that Simpson was, without a doubt, guilty of double murder. The book was published in 1997 and was a bestseller.
After the trial and a bitter custody battle for her two sons, Clark ended her law career. She has appeared as a regular guest on cable political and news talk shows.
Clark resides on the west coast with her two sons.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Clark, the lead prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson trial, makes a triumphant fiction debut that catapults her to the same level as Linda Fairstein, her fellow assistant DA turned legal thriller novelist. Clark's alter ego, L.A. deputy DA Rachel Knight, suffers a shocking loss when a close colleague is suspected of committing a murder-suicide. Unable to reconcile her view of the accused with the official investigation, Knight persists in digging on her own, even though her office has been recused from the case. The workaholic also has her hands full with a case she inherited from the dead prosecutor-the rape of a 15-year-old girl, Susan Densmore, whose doctor father, a prominent financial backer of Knight's boss, is convinced that he knows who the assailant is. Clark (Without a Doubt with Teresa Carpenter) deftly handles the multiple plot lines. Readers will want to see a lot more of Knight, who combines strength of character and compassion with all-too-human foibles. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A corker of a debut novel in which a brainy, plucky female prosecutor refuses to rush to judgment.A 15-year-old girl is raped. The Latino boy she'd been tutoring is the sole suspect. She's rich, the daughter of Frank Densmore, a prominent member of the medical profession. He's poor, a prominent member of the Sylmar Sevens, an L.A. street gang. Actually, Luis Revelo isn't all that poor thanks to modest but steady profits from various sorts of petty larceny. Still, it's the street-gang part that matters. Since he happened to be in the vicinity at the time of the crime, and since he is who he is, it's clearto most of the cop brass, as well as to arrogant, self-important Dr. Densmorethat Luis is their perp. ADA Rachel Knight begs to differas does her close friend LAPD Detective Bailey Keller. Savvy women that they are, both see go-slow signs. To begin with, Susan, the victim, simply won't identify Luis as her molester. It was dark, she was terrified, but it isn't Luis, she insists, who put the pillow over her head. The fact that Dr. Densmore insists that it is does little to persuade since neither Rachel nor Bailey react positively to arrogance and self-importance. Meanwhile, closer to home, there's an equally bedeviling case, the murder of a friend and associate. Here, toobecause they're forced to unsettle certain folks in high placesRachel and Bailey, careers on the line, proceed with caution.That the novel is marked by authenticity is no surprise given Clark's credentialsshe was, after all, lead prosecutor in the headline-grabbing O.J. Simpson trialbut what may surprise some readers is the quality of the writing, plus the considerable charm of Rachel and her buddies.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Don't be dissuaded by the celebrity-author factor: Clark, lead prosecutor in the O. J. Simpson trial, pairs her knowledge of the L.A. judicial scene with a surprising flair for fiction in a remarkably accomplished debut novel. L.A. prosecutor Rachel Knight is stunned when her office soul-mate, Jake Pahlmeyer, is found shot to death in a sleazy motel along with a 17-year-old boy, raising ugly suspicions that she doesn't want to acknowledge. Given Jake's top case to work the rape of the teenage daughter of one of the DA's prominent contributors Rachel is warned by her boss to leave her colleague's death alone. But with her big heart and hard head, she uses her network of sources and risks career and safety to pursue both cases, teaming up with Detective Bailey Keller and following leads to Hispanic gangs and porno rings in the seamiest parts of the city. Clark offers a real page-turner here, with smart, fast-moving prose; a skillfully constructed plot; and a protagonist well worth knowing. Rachel, whose past is only hinted at, is a well-rounded character who's as tough with suspects as she is sensitive with young victims. A top-notch legal thriller that will leave readers wanting more. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Here's that rare example of a celebrity thriller author justifying a major promotion campaign by delivering a genuinely high-quality novel.--Leber, Michele Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
"Former Los Angeles prosecutor Clark's debut novel is well polished, using her insider experience to create a fast-paced mystery," gushed our reviewer, who also praised narrator January LaVoy. Listeners meet protagonist DA Rachel Knight, who is investigating two cases simultaneously-one official, the other under the table. Clark has joined the ranks of lawyers who have become best-selling authors. (LJ 9/15/11) (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.