Bad Intent: 2a Maggie Macgowen Mystery

While settling into L.A. life with her lover, homicide detective Mike Flint, independent filmmaker Maggie McGowen, seen last in Midnight Baby , continues to compile an impressive portfolio as an amateur sleuth. For Maggie's film on growing up in the housing projects, Mike suggests she interview librarian LaShonda DeBevis and prostitute Hanna Rhodes. He omits telling her that both women were key witnesses 14 years ago, when they were children, in the conviction of Charles Conklin for the murder of an L.A. cop--and Mike was on the case. Now, as elections loom, the incumbent DA is trying for political points by requesting the release of Conklin, saying that police pressured the witnesses into lying. While Maggie, who feels ill-used by Mike, pursues her film and some sideline queries on the case, Mike is told by his superiors to take time off until things cool down. In the midst of confusion about the past, the old murder leads to a new death. In this compelling tale, issues personal and professional, good and bad, past and present all contaminate each other, leaving no character in a position to cast stones. Maggie, a divorced mother whose unabashed sexual attraction to Mike accompanies a deep reluctance to remarry, is a complex and highly likable heroine whose cases test and prove her mettle. Hornsby gets better and better at her craft. (Aug.)