Defensive Wounds

I first encountered Lisa Black several years ago at Bookmania! (an event sponsored by our local library system) as she was walking along the line of us waiting to get into the hall for the next panel discussion, passing out book marks featuring her newly-released first novel Takeover.  Needless to say, after hearing her speak, I had to read her book, and I've been hooked on her as an author ever since.  I don't think she needs to do that kind of self publicity anymore!  Defensive Wounds (#152) is her fourth book featuring Cleveland forensic investigator Theresa MacLean.  The cover subtitles this as "A Novel of Suspense", and I'm never sure quite how to classify these books myself.  There is a inevitably an element of murder mystery, but there's always something which involves Theresa more personally in pursuit of justice. This makes me think it's more of a thriller for me.  I suppose "suspense" does cover that neatly.

In Defensive Wounds, a body is discovered in the Presidential Suite of the Ritz Carlton during a Defense Attorneys' Convention.  (Who knew that they actually attended seminars on how to be even more obnoxious in court?)  Then a second and a third body are found, all killed in the same way.  But since all the victims are defense attorneys, the problem is narrowing the field of suspects down to a reasonable number to investigate.  And again, for Theresa, the case becomes very, very personal since her teenaged daughter Rachael is working at the Ritz Carlton reception desk during her summer break.  No one on the police force or the Medical Examiner's Office seems too broken up by the murders since they've all had some hostile encounters with both the victims and the suspects in their professional careers.  But will the killer confine the murders to lawyers, or could something else be in play here?  And is Theresa finally ready to take a plunge into a new romance after her fiance's murder four years ago in Takeover?

Although Lisa Black is now Florida-based, her love of her native Cleveland shines through in all her books.  Defensive Wounds showcases one of the city's tallest buildings, the Terminal Tower.  Her cousin Frank, the homicide detective, and her daughter Rachael both play key roles in the story, making Theresa's forensic discoveries crucial to the outcome of the story.  The ending leaves one death still unresolved, but I'm guessing that Theresa's determination will lead to this loose end being tied up in a future book.  I hope so!  If you're a Kathy Reichs or CSI fan, this book should appeal to you.