Least Wanted

Mack’s unconvincing second Sam McRae mystery (after Identity Crisis) finds the Maryland lawyer fighting for two very different clients. Belligerent Shanae Jackson, who has drug problems, hires McRae to defend her 13-year-old daughter, Tina, who broke an old woman’s arm in an attempted purse-snatching. McRae must deal with a bright but uncooperative Tina as well as Rodney Fisher, the girl’s mostly absent and neglectful father. McRae is also assisting in the legal defense of Brad Higgins, who has been accused of embezzlement by his employer, Kozmik Games. As McRae digs into that case, she suspects someone set Higgins up. Meanwhile, Tina risks going to prison after the prosecutor in her case moves to have her tried as an adult. A clue provides an unexpected link between Higgins’s problem and Tina’s predicament. Unlicensed, unorthodox investigator Darius Wilson Jr. provides much-needed help as the twin investigations improbably morph into one deadly situation. (BookLife)