Hal's Own Murder Case

The fifth case featuring indomitable Fort Worth police detective Deb Ralston is a winner. Martin's ( Death Warmed Over ) hallmark continues to be a fast-paced story, enhanced by snappy prose abounding with evocative details. On medical leave during the last month of her pregnancy, Deb, the mother of three adopted children, discovers that her teenage son, Hal, and his girfriend, Lorie, have hitchhiked to New Mexico for their spring break. Before Deb can locate the adventurers and bring them home, her husband, Harry, confined to the hospital with a broken leg, informs her that Hal is being held in a Las Vegas jail under suspicion of murder. Deb learns from Chief Alberto Salazar that a dazed Hal, with blood on his hands and clothes, was spotted wandering around the victim, who was in Lorie's sleeping bag. But Lorie has disappeared. And, the murder weapon is Harry's hunting knife. Deb joins forces with Salazar to find the real killer and the missing girl. Martin's police procedurals are distinguished by her thoroughly believable and refreshingly different heroine. (Aug.)