Lisa Scottoline's latest story starts out with a bang --- literally
--- and is off and running. Vicki Allegretti loves her new job with
the United States Attorney's office. Cracking down on crime is a
passion with her --- fresh, young and eager prosecutor that she is.
Her official job may be to convict the bad guys, but when the cops
move too slowly to suit her, she can't sit back and wait for the
evidence to simply fall into her lap.


In order to speed things along, she strikes out on her own,
determined and more than a little fearful. But when Vicki finds
herself too close to the wrong end of a gun, she gets really angry.
When she meets her informant in what should have been a small-time
case, things go horribly wrong. She barely escapes with her life.
Two others don't.


Reeling with survivor's guilt after the murders, Vicki struggles to
understand how things got so out of control. Reevaluating the case
seems like a good place to start. She needs to figure out why
anyone would take such a big risk for so little apparent benefit.
Unfortunately, Vicki's methods turn out to be too unconventional
for her boss and she finds her job in serious jeopardy. Naturally,
she is nervous about her employment, but that doesn't stop
her.


Nor does her old friend Dan. Married but unhappy, Dan starts to
drop by Vicki's house more and more often. While she loves his
company, it makes surreptitious snooping difficult. She knows that
he wouldn't condone her unauthorized probing. And then there's
another complication: Dan is about to become her new boss. Of
course, this doesn't stop her either.


Vicki forms an unlikely bond with a person of dubious character in
the case. Together, they spend long hours doing some detective
legwork: a bit of surveillance here, a witness contact there,
dragging out old files and combing through them. The brass wouldn't
like it one bit, so keeping a low profile becomes doubly necessary.
Then, when the outline of a conspiracy starts to take shape, Vicki
doesn't know who to trust or who to turn to. Tightening ranks with
her new ally looks like the best bet. What they unearth together
staggers even the most jaded among law enforcement.


Witty dialogue and robust characters turn the page for you. You
don't have to worry about staying up all night with this novel;
you'll be finished before bedtime. Yes, it rolls along that
fast.