Under Color of Law

One night in 2010, Black LAPD police officer Trevor “Finn” Finnegan, the narrator of this gripping crime novel from Clark (The Furious Way), wants to call for medical assistance for a young Black man his training officer has beaten, probably fatally, after a pursuit, but instead Finn follows an order to leave the scene. Four years later, racial tensions are still high in the department, and Finn may be the most hated detective in his division, because his fellow officers believe his promotion was fast-tracked unfairly. When the naked body of a Black man is found on a hiking trail, the victim turns out to be Brandon Soledad, a recruit in his third month at the police academy. Finn doesn’t relish being put in charge of the case, because mishandling it might irrevocably damage his career. In his desperate effort to find Brandon’s killer, Finn takes drastic steps that could get him suspended or fired from the department. The tension rises when the killer learns that Finn may be getting close to solving the case, and a love interest adds spice. This is a smart, suspenseful police procedural with a timely plot. Agent: Gina Panettieri, Talcott Notch Literary. (Oct.)