Killer Ambition

Rachel Knight finds her professional future on the line in former prosecutor Clark’s suspenseful and gripping third legal thriller featuring the L.A. deputy DA (after 2012’s Guilt by Degrees), the best yet in the series. Teenager Hayley Antonovich has disappeared, and her father, Russell, a blockbuster Hollywood producer, alerts the authorities only after he’s paid the $1 million ransom without getting his child back. Hoping that Hayley can be found alive, Knight and her allies in the LAPD feverishly comb the ransom drop for clues. News that Hayley had been dating 19-year-old Brian Shandling makes the latter an obvious person of interest, but before he can be located, Hayley is found stabbed to death. Knight and her team believe they have identified the killer, but she must use every trick in her trial lawyer’s arsenal to have a hope of prevailing at trial. Clark’s own expertise enables her to realistically portray the drama and vicissitudes of a criminal prosecution. Agent: Dan Conaway, Writer’s House. (June)