Discretion
by Allison Lotta
Touchstone
$25.00 hardcover, 321 pages, 978-1-2019-4484-5 (2012)
This author's second novel starts fast and moves at an ever increasing speed. A beautiful woman falls to her death from the balcony of the U.S. Capitol where she was visiting Washington D.C.'s only congressional representative. The investigation shows that she had been sexually abused and it appears that the fall was not an accident.
It soon becomes clear that the murdered woman was a high-end prostitute working for an exclusive escort service name Discretion. This agency caters to D.C.'s elite men of power and wealth.
Assistant US Atty. Anna Curtis and chief homicide prosecutor Jack Bailey work together to solve the crime. At the same time, they keep secret they’re romantic involvement and the fact that they are living together. Jack is 10 years her senior and Anna had a rocky start at the U.S. Attorney’s office with a personal relationship. She doesn’t want their budding romance to cause her to lose respect at the office.
As always in Washington DC,
politics plays a part in nearly everything. Due to the sensational media
attention the case generated, it soon becomes evident that the investigation
needs a shakeup and Jack is removed from the case for what he believes to be
questionable reasons. He’s also very upset that Anna failed to have his back in
a meeting with their boss. After he’s removed from the case, he confronts Anna.
Jack put his hands on his hips. “This works out perfectly for you,
doesn’t it? You’ve got your big case. Now you can go ‘prove yourself.’”
“That’s not what this is about and you know it. If you stayed on, it would have hurt the case. It would have hurt you in the end. I was trying to protect you.”
“By stabbing me in the back?” Jack’s green eyes glowed with anger.
This author does an excellent job of describing Washington's famous locations and in portraying the secret social club where powerful men escape from public view. It’s clear she’s very familiar with how politics permeates everything in Washington. It’s also obvious that as a former federal sex-crimes prosecutor, she knows her way around the criminal justice system.
This is a character driven novel and ratchets up the tension as the mysteries are gradually revealed. Breaks in the case seem to only lead to more questions. The author deftly keeps the reader guessing right to the very end.
Buy it on Amazon here.
…sounds like the type of book my partner would love. I now know where one of her Christmas presents are coming from…thanks for the link to amazon
Posted by: online legal advice | November 04, 2020 at 03:13 PM