Evidence of Murder by Lisa Black

From the Publisher

Eight months ago, forensic investigator Theresa MacLean lost her fiancé in a bank robbery gone wrong, and she's had trouble concentrating on her work ever since. But now a particularly difficult case may just be what she needs to regain her focus by demanding all her skill, intelligence, and attention.

Jillian Perry has been found dead in the woods, leaving behind a husband of three weeks and a young daughter. The police can't determine how she died—her body shows no visible marks, and the autopsy reveals nothing suspicious—and the leading theory is that she purposely wandered into the forest and succumbed to the freezing weather. But something doesn't feel right to Theresa, and she can't let it go.

To complicate matters, a former boyfriend of Jillian's unexpectedly petitions for custody of the daughter. Obsessed with Jillian, he also suspects foul play in Jillian's death, and now he and Theresa believe Jillian's daughter may be in danger of meeting a similar fate. With a child's life at stake, Theresa must search for evidence of murder—evidence that doesn't seem to exist—before it's too late.

Publishers Weekly

In this sequel to Takeover, Black paints a believable portrait of a professional woman struggling to move on with her life. Cleveland forensic scientist Theresa MacLean has been in a fog of grief since her fiancé, Paul Cleary, was killed in a bank robbery eight months earlier, but her latest case needs all the concentration she can muster. When 24-year-old Jillian Perry, a former escort, turns up dead in the woods, Theresa doubts the police theory that Jillian committed suicide. Jillian was the devoted mother of a five-month-old, and her husband of three weeks, who wasn't the child's father, was on the verge of making big bucks with the innovative video game he and a partner had developed. As Theresa re-examines the evidence, a man claiming to be Jillian's boyfriend wants to claim her body and petitions for custody of her baby. Was he a boyfriend or a stalker? This fast-paced thriller features a lot of detailed forensics with a rip-roaring ending. (Sept.)

Library Journal

Cleveland forensic examiner Theresa MacLean has her share of troubles; she's a single parent, and her fiancé has recently been killed during a bank robbery. When her cousin Frank, a homicide detective, enlists her help in collecting evidence in the death of a former escort, she doesn't expect to become entangled in the investigation. But she can't accept that a recently married woman with a five-month-old baby would take her own life. Clues and evidence elude her, but she can't let go; the personalities of the dead woman and the people surrounding her just don't fit the version of events provided to the police. Theresa's intuition tells her that the woman was murdered, and she intends to do everything she can to prove it. VERDICT In this second novel in a new series (after Takeover), Black weaves a highly entertaining if somewhat improbable tale of drama and suspense. Fans of forensic thrillers will look forward to seeing more of her witty and likable heroine.—Linda Oliver, MLIS, Colorado Springs

Kirkus Reviews

A bereaved coroner is stymied by the apparent suicide of a beautiful young mother. It's a deadly cold winter in Cleveland, and forensic investigator Theresa MacLean is barely functioning. Still in shock over the murder of her fiance, a cop, she is beginning to screw up, not in her science, but in her handling of the human side of criminal cases. Carried along only by dedication and love for her teenage daughter, but emotionally as frozen as the subzero winds off Lake Erie, Theresa finds herself beginning to thaw after a missing person turns up dead with no signs of violence. In fact, lovely former escort Jillian Perry is found with barely a mark on her, seemingly frozen to death with only one small spot on her sweatshirt sleeve. But would the happy, healthy and loving mother of an infant really have chosen to wander off into the woods to die from exposure? Pairing up with a cousin who was her fiance's partner, Theresa looks into Jillian's strange life and finds that her husband did not father baby Cara; her best friend may have been a stalker; and her late grandparents left a fortune to Cara. Two other cases complicate the story as Theresa delves further into the actions of the stalker-buddy and the now-wealthy husband, analyzing fibers, substances and stomach contents to prove a most ingenious murder. Black (Takeover, 2008), a former forensic scientist, knows her stuff and briskly leads readers along the trail of clues right behind her likeable, no-nonsense heroine. Smart science propels this intelligent, well-thought-out crime thriller. Agent:Stephanie Lehmann/Elaine Koster Literary Agency

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