cover image Fatal Truth

Fatal Truth

Robin Burcell. Avon Books, $6.5 (288pp) ISBN 978-0-06-106123-3

Police corruption and violence abound in Fatal Truth, Robin Burcells second novel (after Every Move She Makes) starring San Francisco homicide inspector Kate Gillespie. On the way to meet with a snitch, Kate witnesses his murder. The culprit, a corrupt narcotics investigator, turns up dead several hours later. Unsure of whom she can trust, Kate turns to her ex-partner, PI Sam Scolari, and Mike Torrance, an internal affairs detective and former romantic flame. Both men assist Kate as she investigates the two killings and discovers some surprising links to a 12-year-old scandal involving her brother, his wife and their young son. Through sharp, staccato prose, Burcell delivers a taut police procedural stuffed with law enforcement jargon and exhilarating action sequences.