Detective Carly Edwards had it all - a job she loved, a
husband she admired, and a dog they both adored. And in a
night when her regular partner had the night off, everything
changed. The officer filling in for her partner (a known
loose cannon) emptied an entire magazine on a guy who was
already unable to be a danger to either officer. However,
the ensuing fallout affected Carly, although the Shooting
Review Team cleared her. She is reassigned to juvenile after
an unrelenting press paints a picture of a trigger-happy,
power-hungry cop.
But then the mayor of the town is murdered, and one of the
suspects asks for Carly. The suspect, Londy, is a juvenile
who has been in trouble before, but never for anything
violent. He knows of her because his mother and Carly's
mother are friends through church. Londy claims that he has
found religion and is reformed. He is only a suspect, he
claims, because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Carly sees this as her opportunity to prove that she belongs
back on the streets and out of juvenile. How hard can it be
to get a confession out of a kid with a mountain of evidence
against him? But he won't back down, and soon she begins to
believe his story. Homicide, however, is equally convinced
of his guilt, and they are determined to convict him. Carly
begins to wonder how determined they are when she begins to
investigate and finds suspicious activity on the part of the
department.
Of all people, her ex-husband seems to believe her. Against
her better judgement, she decides to trust him with her
suspicions (the marriage broke up because he cheated on
her), and he helps her investigate. However, as their
investigation progresses, it becomes clear that something is
not right - the best investigators are pulled off the case,
the files are closed to investigators, and more lives are
threatened.
ACCUSED was a wonderfully paced, action-packed mystery. The
religious theme running throughout the book was clearly
important, but it did not distract from the action. It was
woven seamlessly into the dialogue and helped drive the plot
forward, although sometimes predictably so. The tension
between Carly and her roommate when it came to Nick was also
a bit tedious, although understandable.
Carly is a wonderfully written character that I can not wait
to revisit. She is clearly a competent detective, an
intelligent woman, and a compassionate partner. This is
definitely a series I will be revisiting.
Detective Carly Edwards hates working in juvenile—where the
brass put her after an officer-involved shooting—and longs
to be back on patrol. So when a troubled youth, Londy
Atkins, is arrested for the murder of the mayor and Carly is
summoned to the crime scene, she's eager for some action.
Carly presses Londy for a confession but he swears his
innocence, and despite her better judgment, Carly is
inclined to believe him. Yet homicide is convinced of his
guilt and is determined to convict him.
Carly's ex-husband and fellow police officer, Nick, appears
to be on her side. He's determined to show Carly that he's a
changed man and win her back, but she isn't convinced he
won't betray her again.
As the investigation progresses, Carly suspects a cover-up
and strikes out on her own, uncertain whom she can trust.
But when danger mounts, she begins to wonder if she made the
right choice.
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