All
Day and A Night by Alafair Burke combines the genres
of a legal procedural, police procedural, and a psychological
thriller. This book is the fifth in the NYPD police detective
Ellie Hatcher series. Readers will learn the tactics used
in an investigation and feel they are part of the investigative
teams on both sides of the aisle.
The plot begins with the killing of a psychologist that appears
to be tied to the serial killer Anthony Amaro. The only problem
with that conclusion is that the supposed killer has a good
alibi; he is in prison. At about the same time the DA’s
office is notified that the publicity seeking celebrity trial
lawyer, reminiscent of Gloria Allred, is looking into a wrongful
conviction claim. Detective Ellie Hatcher and her partner
J.J. Rogan are called in as part of the “fresh look”
team by Elli’s boyfriend, Assistant District Attorney
Max Donovan.
Being a former prosecutor Burke uses her past experiences
to write realistic plots. She wanted to write this story to
inform readers that many times the police and prosecutorial
teams have tunnel vision in the way they look at a case. She
noted, “One of my first cases was a wrongful conviction
case. The two original prosecutors could not admit they’d
convicted two innocent people. Prosecutors many times have
the assumption the police got the right guy and now it’s
their job to prove it. It is immensely difficult to back away
from that and to think maybe we got it wrong. It seems whatever
we are looking for is what we see. There is this video where
they ask you to count how many red shirts are in it. Because
that is what you are looking for you missed the guy in the
gorilla outfit walking across the basketball court. You missed
it because you only focused on one thing.”
The characters are well developed with an in depth description
of their personal lives and personalities. Ellie Hatcher is
not perfect but sees herself as responsible and the protector
of her family as well as society. On the other hand her lover,
Max, is seen as someone who wants to get ahead, but sees himself
above the fray. He always thinks of himself as the good guy;
yet, tends to put Ellie in uncomfortable situations.
Burke does a masterful job in creating tension between the
characters. Carrie Blank, the younger sister of one of the
serial killers victims, decides to be a part of the team that
is looking into evidence that will exonerate Amaro in order
to find her sister’s real killer. She becomes angry
with her employer, who hired her for the public relations
aspect. There are also tensions between Rogan and Ellie since
he thinks they were chosen to help the DA whitewash the case.
Ellie is angry that she is put in the middle of Rogan and
Max butting heads.
Burke commented, “Police and prosecutors butt heads
more than the public realizes. A lot of police officers think
prosecutors are the problem in that they do not do the right
thing for either political motivations or because they are
too chicken to go to trial. On the other hand a lot of prosecutors
think cops go overboard and don’t investigate thoroughly
enough. I hoped I show in this book how a case has different
perspectives, which can make each particular team go in different
directions.”
All Day and A Night has a number of twists and surprises.
Readers should not assume anything after the first couple
of chapters because the story will turn upside down. This
riveting and complex mystery is a fast-paced page-turner.
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