Blood Relations: 8a Novel

I *like* books where I can identify with or like someone, hopefully one of the lead characters. This book was a problem for me in that area. Well, not every character was unlikeable. There was a 14 year old girl who was OK, and a policeman, but other than that? The "good" people were only a bit better than the "bad." If this is South Beach, I'm glad I don't live there! The plot involves a young model who is gang-raped in a South Beach club. She wants to see these guys go to jail, but there are political and economic forces that would sweep it all under the carpet. The state's attorney, Sam Hagen, is asked to handle the case although he is still grieving the recent death of his 19 year old son, who got caught up in the fast life of South Beach and the clubs himself. He has wife and ex-girlfriend problems as well. And the exgirlfriend has romantic problems of her own. People connected in some way to the rape start getting murdered. Did I mention there are a lot of characters? But this isn't one of those books where you can't keep track of everyone -- although all the subplots get complicated. In the end, I had a lot of problems with the way that Sam deals with a difficult situation. It's ironic that although he is the "good" guy, he seems morally challenged to me. But I gave this book 4 stars because it's fairly well written and moves right along.

A teenage model is raped in the VIP room of an upscale South Beach nightclub in front of a cast of characters right out of a Fellini film. The three perpetrators are all prominent, high profile men. Dade County officials and Miami Beach's city manager do not want the case brought to trial because of potential bad publicity and its impact on tourism. The decision to try the case is up to Sam Hogan, head of Major Crimes for Dade County. Hogan's boss, the state attorney, is being considered for the US Vice Presidential slot in the upcoming national election and Hogan wants his job.Many of the witnesses to the crime are "beautiful people," involved in the fashion industry, as was Hogan's only son Matthew. Matthew was a model who was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident a year or so before this incident. Dina Hogan, Sam's wife, has never recovered from her son's death. The investigation and interaction with the people who her son knew so well, including Sam's ex-mistress, causes Dina to unravel and distance herself even more from her husband and their daughter. Then a major witness, and a close friend of Matthew's, is found murdered and a sequence of unsettling events begins.Barbara Parker has written a complex suspense thriller with an intricate plot filled with unexpected twists and turns, chilling suspense and a real cliffhanger ending. I am fairly good at solving mysteries but this one had me stymied. The characters who populate the novel are what make this book so unique. I found myself absorbed with them and thought about them at times when not reading. They are very realistic, not at all contrived, and very human in their desires, ambitions, greed, grief and motivations. The glamour of the fashion industry and the lowdown on the Miami/South Beach drug/crime scene and court system are added pluses. The South Florida setting and legal system is well researched and Ms. Parker certainly knows her way around the courtroom. I highly recommend this. It is a well-written book and an excellent read.JANA

I am a fan of Mary Higgens Clark and found this novel to rival her best. It was suspensful, fast paced and full of surprises. I loved it.

Better than Grisham. Think Scott Turow meets Sue Grafton. This female attorney author pulls no punches. Miami, the setting, is as much a character as the likeable and tormented Sam Hagen, state prosecutor who has recently lost his only son. I loved this book! Went out and got all the rest of her novels after this. A must-have if you like lawyer thrillers. Maybe a must-have if you just like well-written books about real human beings in trouble.