Single mom, part-time law student and overworked Ventura County probation officer Carolyn Sullivan is Rosenberg's (Mitigating Circumstances
; Interest of Justice
; etc.) latest heroine to find herself staring danger in the face. Sullivan's troubles begin when one of her probationers, Fast Eddie—whom she hasn't seen in months—rapes an eight-year-old girl. New parolee Daniel Metroix presents a different challenge: the brilliant schizophrenic might be innocent of the crime that put him in prison, the murder of the then police chief's son. Despite warnings from her ex-boyfriend boss, Sullivan investigates that 23-year-old crime as well as the former police chief, his family and his henchmen. After Metroix's hotel room explodes during Sullivan's visit, destroying his notes for what may be a brilliant invention, Metroix's enemies threaten Sullivan, too. Her career's in jeopardy, her life and children are in danger, and Sullivan has no one to turn to except the sympathetic judge who teaches her law class and the handsome professor who just moved to her neighborhood. Rosenberg uses her firsthand knowledge of law enforcement to create convincing sketches of criminal predators, mental patients and hardworking civil servants in this fast-paced romantic thriller. Often sacrificing authenticity for drama and subtlety for sentiment, Rosenberg crams her stories with coincidences (e.g., the professor teaches physics, which is also the hobby of Sullivan's 15-year-old son and Metroix). But readers will overlook these flaws, especially since Sullivan is so human and determined that it's almost impossible not to race to the end to see what happens to her next. Agent, Arthur Klebanoff. Literary Guild, Doubleday Book Club and Mystery Guild selections. (May)
Forecast:
Nelson DeMille's not making a tough call when he notes on the back cover that Rosenberg's latest "will be another bestseller"—all of her novels have hit the lists.
