Suspicion of Innocence: 2a Novel

Parker, a former prosecutor, turns in an exhilarating debut that steams with Miami heat. When troubled party girl Renee Pettis is found floating in the Everglades, her wrists slit to the bone, suspicion clings to her older sister Gail, a straight-arrow lawyer more married to her job than to her husband Dave. The resentment and anguish that smoldered between the sisters in life flares anew as drug running, land scams and the theft of a costly artifact bob to the surface. A parallel plot involves two Cuban cousins, one a two-bit vice lord who was Renee's lover, the other a respected attorney who seduces Gail while offering legal advice. The love scenes sink into the breathless lingo of romance novels, and readers may guess where the plot lines will converge, but this sizzling page-turner will keep lamps lit late into the night as it likely surges up the bestseller list. (Jan.)