BettyAnn Hegland

Although the murder is actually a cold case, it is presented as a typical contemporary police procedural. This is the first in a series and needed a good editor. The plotting is choppy and the narrative switches perspectives with no warning. The author is trying to introduce too many characters & provides a plethora of dead end detail. She also has an annoying habit of bringing up the detectives' troubled private lives but doesn't bother to tell the reader who she's talking about. None of her characterizations had a spark and consequently I didn't really care whether the murderer was discovered or not. The denouement was unsatisfying and a little silly.