Jane Doe

When the unidentified corpse of a young girl appears on the shore of the Sacramento River behind Detective Frank Keegan's Riverton, Calif., home one February morning, the cop faces a daunting task. Because of an uncharacteristic alcoholic blackout, he must piece together an alibi for the previous evening. An arrest by Riverton's newly appointed police chief, Abby Hooper, seems imminent, as the physical evidence increasingly points to Keegan. Young Hooper is in a tight spot herself: Keegan's the man she beat out for the police chief job. But shocking clues as to the identity of ""Jane Doe"" surface in the nick of time, after a prominent citizen commits suicide. Kaiser (Payback) skillfully unfolds his complex story line as Keegan and Hooper join forces in a foray into the treacherous underworld of child prostitution. Complicating matters further, the pair must grapple with their intense mutual attraction (despite a formidable age difference and Keegan's past love affair with Hooper's estranged mother). Kaiser again demonstrates his flair for making even the most unlikely relationship credible and compelling. (June)