Missing Justice 
A Samantha Kincaid mystery  
By Alafair Burke

     Samantha Kincaid is a Deputy District Attorney with the Major Crime Unit in Portland, Oregon. As her first case there, she is assigned to the homicide of administrative law judge, Clarissa Easterbrook. Police believe it to be a random killing while she was walking her dog. Sam's investigations lead her to believe that Clarissa was cheating on her doctor husband. She has questions for the husband and for Clarissa's best friend, Susan Kerr.

     The prime suspect is a poor black man, Manville Jackson, who had a grudge against the judge because of a ruling she made against him. The evidence against him is strong. Threatening letters to the judge are found in his house. The murder weapon is also discovered in his house.

      Sam feels he is being set up to take the fall for the crime. She probes the judge's rulings on an urban growth boundary which would have far reaching effects.

     Burke has drawn on her own experience as a former deputy district attorney to make the scenes in and out of the courtroom seem real. The characters are skillfully drawn. Burke does an excellent job of developing Sam who is learning the ropes of her new job with the support of an excellent supervisor. The plot is a complex one, combining the legal aspects with the police procedurals.

    This is Burke's second mystery featuring Samantha Kincaid, and it is a pleasure to watch Sam's development. Let us hope there will be more in the future.