Playing God

Flora's dazzling debut police procedural introduces Sgt. Joe Burgess, a crusty but bighearted Portland, Maine, cop. "This case has everything," Joe says of a murder he's investigating, "unhappy wife, angry ex. Hookers. Drugs. Money problems. Maybe blackmail." The distinctly unsympathetic victim, Dr. Stephen Pleasant, is found in his Mercedes with his pants down, a rod rammed down his throat and two shades of lipstick smeared on his chest. It turns out he had a three-hooker-a-week habit, and one of the suspects is Alana Black, a sexy young prostitute Burgess has been trying to help for years. But evidence suggests another woman at the scene and tracking her down proves difficult and dangerous for Alana and Joe, testing his tenacity, patience and faith—not only as he pursues justice but as he faces his personal demons. Flora (Finding Amy: A True Story of Murder in Maine ) leaves some tantalizing loose ends at the conclusion, hinting at future entries in this promising new series. (Sept.)