THE OTHER MURDER

In this novel, two reporters join forces when their respective murder cases—one of which is followed closely by the media—appear to have a troubling connection.

This fast-paced thriller centers on two reporters following vastly different murder cases. Hannah Hawthorne, desperate to redeem herself after a botched news report, is elated to be covering the fatal shooting of Angelica Monroe—a young white woman whose case instantly garners sympathy and outrage. Meanwhile, Paulo Richardson is stuck in a rut at a small local newspaper when he picks up the case of Javier Estrada—a Latine teenager shot on the same night and in the same park as Angelica, but whose past gang ties and skin color guarantee that his murder is all but ignored. When their investigations lead to some compelling evidence that the cases are linked and the victims are not quite who they appear to be, Hannah and Paulo must use all their resources to try to discover the truth—a truth that many would like to ignore. With intelligent characters and believable dialogue, Chapman has managed to create a riveting whodunit that also speaks volumes about social issues plaguing the justice system. The novel acknowledges early on that the two shooting victims are greeted with different levels of sympathy within the community: “Only one thing was absolutely certain, Paulo thought. The dead woman in the park was White. The TV reporter hadn’t said so, but the attention level for this story was way too high for the victim to be a person of color.” The social issues are skillfully woven into the narrative, making readers seriously consider these problems even when they’re immersed in conversations with possible snitches and the chaos of climactic shooting scenes.

A sleek, gripping thriller that raises important questions about truth and justice.