THE MURDER BOOK

A Buffalo cop’s crucial mistake in an old case comes back to almost literally haunt her.

Lauren Riley and her partner, Shane Reese, are the stars of the Cold Case Homicide Unit. Staying late to finish up some work, Lauren’s attacked by a man wearing police-issue boots who steals her murder book. Only the timely return of Reese, who’s come back for his hat, saves her life. Her two college-age daughters, Lindsey and Erin, and her snowbird parents keep vigil at her hospital bedside, and Reese and his dog, Watson, move into the big house Lauren got in a divorce settlement from her wealthy second husband to protect her while she recovers. Lauren’s love life is complicated. Her first husband left when the girls were young. Then she was in an abusive relationship with fellow cop Joe Wheeler. But the man she worries about most is David Spencer, a young man she helped beat a homicide charge (Cold Day in Hell, 2018) before she realized he was guilty. Since Lauren and her friends know her attacker was a cop, they also know they can’t trust anyone, certainly not whomever’s leaking information to the press. The DA tells Lauren and Reese that several calls on an unused tip line that’s still recorded indicate knowledge of an old homicide case that may explain why someone is so desperate to get Lauren’s murder book. Lauren calls on the services of her retired boss, the legendary Charlie Daley, an expert on drugs and vice, who recognizes the voice as that of a former informant. When Joe Wheeler is murdered by an unknown assailant, some people think Reese killed him for mistreating Lauren even though he has a solid alibi. Lauren must walk a dangerous line in order to find the cop willing to kill to hide a secret even as she’s stalked by Spencer.

Redmond, a retired Buffalo homicide detective, fleshes out an intriguing tale with solid procedural detail.