Close Case by Alafair BurkeMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The last of the Samantha Kinkaid trilogy though with an open-ended finale there is always the possibility that Sam may some day reappear in the Burke collection. This is certainly the best of the three books--the author improved with each one. In this several seemingly unrelated crimes fall into Samantha's lap. The first is the brutal beating to death of the chief crime reporter for The Oregonian. Seems to be a random meth induced attack by a couple of teen hoodlums wanting to take guys Mercedes for a spin. In very quick time, the kids are arrested and, with a little extra pressure from a NYPD transplant, a confession is obtained. An eyewitness has made a statement and a bloody baseball bat is recovered from a dumpster close to one of the perps homes. A slam dunk for sure. Not so fast, guys!
The other is the strange case of a cop shooting an unarmed black woman whom he claims tried to run him over after a routine traffic stop. A political hot cake in these days but, once more, on the surface though some questions arise, it would appear the cop acted responsibly in self defense. Another slam dunk--right?
Well, if things were so easily solved there would be no story to fill over 300 enjoyable pages, filled with inconsistencies, second guesses, new evidence, and a young reporter hoping to make her chops by following up on cryptic notes left behind by the murdered investigative reporter. Through it all, Sam and her now live in boyfriend, the cop and childhood sweetheart, try to keep love alive as they find themselves on opposite sides when it comes to the investigation of his partner, Mike and his best friend, another cop whose wife had been having an affair with the reporter. Complications all around. But, as with all good stories, everything falls into place in the end even if not all the results are satisfactory.
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