Riptide

Mack’s competently plotted third Sam McRae mystery (after Least Wanted) takes the Maryland attorney and her fellow lawyer and friend, Jamila Williams, to Ocean City, Md., for a combined vacation and professional conference. At the beach, the pair have an unpleasant encounter with a group of young people led by Billy Ray, who taunt Jamila with racial insults and accuse her of staying at Billy Ray’s “daddy’s property.” When someone later fatally stabs Billy Ray in the gut, planted evidence linking Jamila to the crime leads to her arrest. Billy Ray’s stepfather, Marshall Bower, uses his powerful influence against Jamila. Since McRae can do little to help defense lawyer Edward Mulrooney, and PI Ellis Conroy blows her off, she investigates on her own. She looks into Bower’s operations, including his poultry farm, where illegal immigrants work under dreadful conditions. Serious social issues lend this entry extra interest. (BookLife)