Gritty return to Kindle County

Suspect by Scott Turow, Swift Press, $45 (Hardcover) .. .. ..

.. .. .. .. Scott Turow’s first novel, Presumed Innocent hit me right between the eyes back in 1987, and became a bestseller. Turow was able to mix his life as a US Attorney prosecutor and a novelist as his Kindle County stories established his writing career alongside his day job.

Suspect is the 12th story and for me the grittiest. Police Chief Lucia Gomez is up against a trio of officers who allege she has solicited sex from them in return for promotion. Rik Dudek is her attorney and friend, and frankly the only one she can trust. And then there’s the very outthere private investigator Pinky Granum whose imaginative and fearless approach prove to be the difference as Lucia faces up to the charges.

Suspect is a cops versus cop drama. Can Lucia escape the local mobster who is behind the attack on her credbility and her very position as top cop. Great read. — Tony Nielsen