Short description
The murder of one of Charleston's most powerful citizens rocks the city and gives ambitious prosecutor Hammond Cross his chance at becoming D.A. But when the prime suspect turns out to be a beautiful woman with whom he spent the night, Hammond must determine if he was set up to be the perfect alibi. Reissue.
Long description
Hammond Cross sees a beautiful woman across a crowded dance floor and knows he has to be with her. After they spend the night together, she mysteriously disappears. Later, while prosecuting the biggest murder case of his career, Hammond discovers that Dr. Alex Ladd, the prime suspect, is also his mystery woman. Now, he faces a moral dilemma and a haunting question. Is she innocent of the crime or was he used as her perfect alibi? And if she isn't the killer, is she the next victim?
Review
According to her publisher, Brown (Unspeakable, 1998, etc. etc.) has had 37 titles on the New York Times bestseller lists in the past nine years, some of them reprints of her Texas! trilogy and other earlier works. With her latest weighing in at nearly 500 pages, she's one speedy typist - and as styleless as a Latin dictionary, with meticulously clipped sentences compounded of industrial connectives. Charleston assistant district attorney Hammond Cross unaccountably finds himself at a county fair, where he meets a mysterious woman and saves her from hungry servicemen. She leads him on, then fades into the night. Meanwhile, Charleston's biggest developer and satyr, Lute Petitjohn, is murdered in the Charles Towne Plaza. Lute was the ex-brother-in-law of top detective Rory Smilow, who is investigating the murder and whom sexy assistant county solicitor Steffi Mundell begs to help her land this super-high-profile case. All avenues at last lead to Dr. Alex Ladd, the very woman Hammond was dancing with while the murder occurred. But Hammond can't reveal he's her alibi without compromising his job as a legal-evidence-gatherer for the city. A story Brown's fans will savor, however charmless its language. (Kirkus Reviews)
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