Reviewer: Tracey Wheeler
Title: Defensive Wounds - 4th in the Theresa MacLean series
Author: Lisa Black
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-198941-4
Release Date: September 2011
Genre/Sub-genre: Suspense
Year/Setting: Present day
Overall Rating: 4.0
Sexual Content Rating: None
Language (Profanity/Slang) Content Rating: None
Violent Content Rating: Minimal
Lisa's Website/Blog: www.lisa-black.com
Defensive Wounds is one of several novels in the Theresa MacLean series by Lisa Black.
The book begins with the murder of a female, high-profile, criminal defense attorney during a hotel convention. To some prosecutors, detectives, and police officers, this case was not one of high priority since defense attorneys try to "unravel" the evidence put together from those men and women on the other side to prove their clients’ innocence.
Theresa MacLean, forensic investigator, is good at her job and takes on the newest case with excitement, dismissing a few details. First, the attorney that was victim to the murder is one Theresa had a run-in with at trial some years back, and second, she learns the scene of the murder is the same hotel where her daughter works. Is her daughter in danger? Before Theresa had time to dwell on that….two other attorneys were murdered at the same hotel. The body count is up to three. Are they dealing with a serial killer?
As if the bodies piling up and no leads in the case weren’t enough, Theresa’s daughter takes a liking to one of her hotel co-workers, who Theresa learns has a sealed juvenile record. What if he was the killer?
This book was a little different than your typical murder mystery (gather evidence, track the killer), but still very interesting. Although there was discussion of potential suspects, just as much emphasis went into the crime scene, i.e., position of the body, hair and fibers found on the scene, the science behind it all.
I did enjoy the character of Theresa MacLane. She was a character I think any mother could relate to, a mother first, investigator second. She was very convincing and took her job seriously. Theresa was also able to put her past dealings/opinions on the back burner when trying to solve the crime, something that others were anything but silent about. Catching the killer and keeping her daughter safe in the process was of the utmost importance to her.
There were several other characters, who I thought were minimal to the storyline at best, but prove their true value later on in the story. I guess that is what a "mystery" is: never knowing what players become key in solving the puzzle. The storyline was easy to follow and I have to say the forensic evidence gathering held my interest also.
Tracey
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