When a retired businessman is pushed to his death on Manhattan's subway tracks, his daughter retains the services of PI Rachel Alexander in Benjamin's well-plotted, thoughtful ninth episode (after 2005's Without a Word
) in her series starring the former dog trainer and her trusty pit bull, Dashiell. The police believe a homeless man killed the victim, Gardner Redstone, so Rachel—escorted by her canine companion—goes undercover as a homeless woman to track down the perpetrator. Numerous interviews give her cause to believe that malice rather than madness motivated the crime, and Rachel cleans up to pose as an employee at Redstone's upscale leather goods store, now run by his daughter, Eleanor. Rachel's sleuthing efforts finally pay off, but not before she experiences firsthand the painful gap between New York City's fabulously wealthy and abject poor. Benjamin brings a strong sense of place and social conscience to her latest outing. (Oct.)
