Monday, October 10, 2011

"Defensive Wounds"

Lisa Black spent the five happiest years of her life in a morgue. As a forensic scientist in the Cleveland coroner’s office she analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now she’s a certified latent print examiner and CSI for the Cape Coral Police Department. Her books have been published in Germany, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Japan. Evidence of Murder reached the New York Times mass market bestseller’s list.

She applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Defensive Wounds, and reported the following:
Page 69 is the last page of chapter 7. Forensic scientist Theresa has spent all day investigating what will become the first of a series of bizarre murders of defense lawyers, attending a convention at the local Ritz-Carlton. Her daughter, Rachael, is home from college and working a summer job at the Ritz’s front desk. Theresa is understandably nervous about her daughter’s proximity to a homicide but knows that to be an emotional reaction and not a sensible one. The dead lawyer had a long list of enemies—Theresa among them—so there is no reason to believe the murderer would be interested in killing again.

Theresa turns her mind to lighter fare, gently asking after the girl’s latest crush on a handsome co-worker. But even this topic does not distract Theresa from the murder as she is curious about this new co-worker; when she introduced the boy to a lawyer friend of hers, the friend became very reticent. Almost as if she recognized the kid as a—client?

The style and dialogue are typical of the rest of the book, though the subject matter isn’t—most of the book is spent with Theresa’s work at the crime scenes and at her lab in the medical examiner’s office, or with her cousin, homicide detective Frank Patrick, interviewing suspects and drawing them both ever closer to the killer.
Learn more about the book and author at Lisa Black's website.

My Book, The Movie: Defensive Wounds.

--Marshal Zeringue