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First Offense
Surviving a murder attempt on her life, probation officer Ann Carlisle wonders if the unknown assailant could be the young drug dealer in her charge, an accused rapist facing trial, or her own husband. Reprint. AB. PW. LJ
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Interest of Justice
Judge Lara Sanderstone, young for the bench at thirty-eight, is a brilliant and brave woman whose judicial career suddenly takes second place to her hunt for the savage murderer of her young sister and brother-in-law. In the aftermath of the hideous crime, Lara is left with the victims' brutalized teenage son, Josh, on her hands and faced with the knowledge of the degradation that has consumed the sister she loved so much. Even more pressing, she herself is being stalked by a killer whose terrifying attacks leave no clue as to identity or motive.There is no safe haven for Lara-not in the Orange County, California courtroom where an agonizing case of child abuse and assault is putting the law on trial and the legal system through the wringer; not in the condo where she is hiding with the troubled Josh, whom she cannot abandon yet cannot fully trust; not in the arms of a high-powered lawyer who offers her sex without love in return for the comfort of his companionship. She must seek help from a tough homicide detective, to whom she is compellingly drawn, and from a computer genius crippled in body yet strong in spirit. Her life under a sinister sentence of death, her job hanging by an unraveling thread, she must search the corridors of power to uncover a sexual breeding ground for murder. And finally, what she discovers is as shattering to her faith and trust as it is fatally threatening to her and thos she loves.
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Sullivan's Justice
In her work for the Ventura County Probation Department, Carolyn Sullivan interviews the most dangerous, depraved criminals - and Raphael Moreno is at the top of the list. The hardened street thug has been convicted in a series of gruesome and baffling murders, including the decapitation of his own mother. For the first time, Carolyn is face-to-face with a criminal who truly frightens her. But things are about to get much hotter - and much deadlier for Carolyn. A phone call from her brother, Neil, propels her into a nightmare. A popular bachelor and successful artist, Neil has discovered the body of his girlfriend, Laurel, floating in his swimming pool. When her death is ruled a homicide, Neil becomes the prime suspect. But he has an alibi - he was in bed with Melody Asher, a seductive party girl and heiress. Their torrid affair is as steamy as it is addictive, a twisted game of manipulation and sexual blackmail. When Melody refuses to back up Neil's story, the sensitive brother Carolyn thought she knew suddenly seems like a complete stranger. And then the most shattering news surfaces: Blood found in Neil's expensive new car links him to Raphael Moreno and his unthinkable crimes. As the evidence against Neil mounts, Carolyn is forced to ask herself troubling questions. Is he an innocent victim, or could he be hiding a darker side, a sinister streak that connects him to the brutal murders of nine people? Could the brother she loves actually be a cold-hearted, ruthless killer?