Detective Sloane Pearson is relatively new to the sex crime squad of her division. With a reputation for caring for the victims, no matter who they are, Sloane finds herself among a bunch of cops who have weathered the job year in and year out and just do the job. Her tenacity gets her through each day, while life throws her punches, leaving her as unstable as papers skittering around the windy city.
Women are being raped and choked in vacated buildings, but they don't want to pursue bringing the rapist to justice. When Sloane's real estate agent is one of the victims, Sloane stays the course, interviewing the woman and returning to visit her in the hope she will remember more details. The word comes down the chain of command to let the case go, but Sloane persists, even when her own partner has given up. In a failing relationship, her father's heart failing, Sloan doesn't want to fail this case.
Written in Sloane's point of view, the reader fully understands the pain and insecurities she hides deep. Schwegel's knowledge of Chicago and her depiction of life in this city, along with her fleshed out characters, sharp dialogue and sassy comebacks to the male characters make LAST KNOWN ADDRESS an appealing mystery perfect for any setting, whether reading on the beach or by bedside lighting. You will start it and won't want to put it down.
Detective Sloane Pearson is new to the Sex Crimes Division but no stranger to being treated like an incompetent blonde by her hardened male co-workers. Sheβs also no stranger to hard-to-crack cases, and her latest is as tough as they come: A rapist is on the prowl, dragging women to deserted building sites or vacant apartment buildings peppered all over downtown Chicago, and forcing them to fight---knowing, of course, that heβll win.
When a real estate agent Sloane knows is attacked by the violent predator, Sloane finds herself taking a case that threatens her secret plans to leave her long-time lover. Her personal bond with the victim and a would-be relationship with a man she interviews along the way lead Sloane down a dangerous path---one that poisons the investigation as well as her personal life.
Sloaneβs balancing act topples when her father falls ill. Between coping with his weak heart and following the few weak leads she has, her case begins to go the way that many rape cases go: The victims fall away, one by one, suddenly unsure of what they saw or unwilling to relive the horrifying moments again and again.
When Sloane helps a hungry young Sun- Times reporter declare the case serial, she loses support: Her bosses demand she get a suspect or move on. Sloane stays on the case, though---no matter how much it strains her personal relationships. Even her partner claims sheβs in too deep: He doesnβt believe thereβs an arrest on the planet worth a copβs life. Sloane disagrees: Someoneβs got to take up the fight.
From the worst slums of Chicagoβs west side to the glittering Loop skyscrapers, Sloane finds no shortage of suspects. As she loses everything sheβd called home, she can only hope to find the rapist before she also becomes a victim.
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