Easy Innocence

Lauren and Sara are starting their junior year in high school, and the pressure is on. Not only is this the year that grades and test scores count, but juniors must pass muster from the senior girls or face a year of harassment. At the ritual power-puff football game that marks the beginning of the school year, the older girls single out Sara for a little "attitude adjustment." Sara ends up dead, and an autistic young man is jailed for her murder. Private investigator Georgia Davis knows two things: Cameron Jordon has already been short-changed by the medical and social services systems and, in the wealthy Chicago suburb of North Shore, the police have found a perfect suspect in a young man who can't defend himself. What Georgia doesn't know: the risky business Lauren and Sara have set up for themselves in order to pay for their electronic gadgets, expensive shoes and designer clothes. This is a gorgeous, tightly-written mystery. The characters are fully developed and the plot has delicious sub-layers running through it. I love the way the superb writing flows. If I had teen-age daughters, this book would make me very concerned about what they might be up to that I didn't know about. Even if you don't have teen-age daughters (or nieces, friends, etc.) I strongly recommended this book. Mysteries don't get any better than this. by Sharon Wildwind for Story Circle Book Reviews reviewing books by, for, and about women

Georgia Davis is the protagonist of what appears to be a new series by Libby Fischer Hellmann. A cop for ten years on the North Shore of Chicago, she has been suspended from the force and is now working as a p.i. She has been hired to investigate the death of a 17-year-old girl, a high school student who was murdered in what appears to have started as a hazing, clubbed to death with a baseball bat in a forest preserve. It seems to be a pretty cut and dried affair, with all the evidence pointing to a 35-year-old registered sex offender. The latter's sister, fifteen years his senior, is convinced that despite his history, her brother is incapable of violence. Although the case is described as a slam dunk, even the dead girl's mother has some doubts, telling Georgia: "Things started moving so fast it made my head spin. Everything all tied up in three or four days. With a big, shiny ribbon on top." Georgia's investigation uncovers up all kinds of unexpected discoveries, all to do with "families and friendships and secrets," some of which put Georgia's life in jeopardy. Georgia is not without conflict on this case: Her former partner on the police force is in charge of the investigation into the teen's death, and his animosity towards her is palpable. Then her path crosses that of her former lover, with whom she broke up two years earlier. This was a book I could not put down, reading it cover to cover during the course of one day. The reader is drawn into the story immediately, and the wonderful writing makes the characters come alive. The startling turn of events as the book goes on is, on reflection, not all that shocking, but it certainly seems that way at first. I loved that Ellie Foreman, the protag in Ms. Hellmann's prior series, makes a cameo appearance, and that a character is named after Ruth Jordan, she of Crimespree Magazine renown. The suspense is sustained throughout as the search for the real killer goes on, and some unexpected twists as the books races to a conclusion will keep readers off balance to the end. Highly recommended. The book had a simultaneous release in hardcover and in paperback format.

It is easy these days to blame the mentally ill for crimes and there is no doubt that Cameron Jordan is mentally ill. There is no doubt that his finger prints were all over the murder weapon. The weapon was a baseball bat which, like Cameron, is covered in the blood of the deceased Sara Long. It didn't help matters that he was found kneeling over the body holding the bat by her teenage friends. Georgia Davis, a former Chicago Cop is working these days as a private investigator. While the circumstances of her leaving the force are rather murky, it is clear that she has a number of enemies and few friends among her former colleagues. One friend in particular is concerned about the speed at which Cameron Jordan's case is moving through the system. He quietly refers Cameron Jordan's sister and caretaker, Ruth Jordan, to Georgia Davis for help. Motivated by disgust regarding the cases she has been working and a need to seek justice, Georgia Davis plunges into a world of rich and twisted high school students, their politically connected parents and murder where the odds are stacked against the truth. This was my first exposure to Libby Fischer Hellman's work and it was quite the mystery ride. Georgia Davis is a multi faceted heroine with many secrets and issues and only a few were somewhat exposed in this novel. Unlike how many female private investigators are portrayed in mysteries where they either out drink and out cuss men or they are bumbling idiots more than ten novels later who still amazingly forget to take their gun to the abandoned warehouse at two in the morning, Georgia Davis is a normally intelligent human being who occasionally gets herself into situations any real person would and could get into while working the case. As such, she and by relation her world, are immensely believable and connect with the reader. So too are the other characters as well as the descriptions of scenes set in and around the Chicago area. Then there is the interesting and complex case itself. Full of political intrigue, money and privilege as well as the universal problem of parents dealing with teenagers that are often taught by the educational system not to respect the authority of their parents, this novel works on many different levels while providing an entertaining read right to the last page. Much like Reed Farrel Coleman's "Empty Ever After" also due out in April from Bleak House, there is a same powerful poetic imagery at work here and yet the books are very different in style, tone and subject matter. Hopefully this won't be the last of Georgia Davis because this novel just begins to scratch the surface with her and leaves a lot of questions unanswered. If, like me you are new to this author, it might be well worth looking up some of her other titles. I certainly plan too. Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2008

After being suspended for not turning in a confiscated weapon despite ultimately solving the case, Georgia Davis left the Chicago police force to work as a private investigator. Although she manages to keep busy with insurance cases and spying on straying spouses, it's a tip from an old colleague that has her feeling alive again. An unarguably mentally unstable man is being shuttled much too quickly through the legal system for the murder of a teenage girl, and the man's sister is willing to pay to prove his innocence. What Georgia discovers is that the girl was the latest victim in a series of covered-up hazing incidents, and although the teens deny harming the girl Georgia has her suspicions. When Georgia learns that one of the implicated students is the daughter of the prosecuting attorney Georgia is more than a little suspicious that the higher-ups are protecting their own. As Georgia looks into the background of the victim she discovers that the Sara Long was hiding more than her share of secrets from her parents, from a cache of designer goods to the fact that she was only pretending to work in a bookstore. Both freed and hampered by the loss of her police status Georgia risks her life and the possibility of arrest when she manipulates her way into interviewing the teens and their families to discover that they are all hiding a secret that one would never expect in such a white and wealthy society. Although Georgia was introduced to readers in Hellmann's Ellie Foreman series (Image of Death), this new mystery takes a darker and more intense turn that reveals the growth in the author's talent. She explores the culture today that has teenaged girls who use sex as commerce and value material goods over self-respect. Hellmann keeps the pace going by alternating viewpoints that include the sleazy boyfriend of one of the teens and Georgia's shady ex who seems to be stalking her. Despite the bleak theme and disturbing cover though, the mystery never becomes too depressing as a result of Georgia's dry - and admittedly black- humor along with the introduction of her charming and attractive neighbor. Filled with the authentic backdrop of Chicago and realistic portrayals of the police and legal systems, Easy Innocence succeeds in entertaining readers and keeps them engaged until the final last twist.

I have no idea what book the Publishers Weekly reviewer read, but it sure wasn't Easy Innocence. I found this book to be remarkably compelling. The review makes no mention at all of what is at the heart of this fine suspense novel: a startling story of affluent teenagers who traffic in human desire. Nor does it mention the fact that the author has created a cast of fully realized characters, with a terrific, tough female protagonist at the center of the action. This is a unique thriller in many respects, not the least of which is the fact that behind the thrills is a heartbreaking and very contemporary take on a subject that strikes fear in the heart of every parent with a teenage daughter. Don't let the PW review keep you from reading this terrific novel.