Mystery featuring homicide detective Tom McMichael. McMichael catches the case when elderly Pete Braga is found beaten to death in his home. The twist: many years ago Braga had shot McMichael's grandfather in a dispute, and then McMichael's father was accused of beating Braga's son so badly that he ended up brain-damaged and has the mind of a ten-year-old. Family feud anyone? Many people suspect McMichael of not doing his job because the murder may seem like just desserts.

The first suspect is Sally Rainwater, who had been Braga's home nurse. Word got around that Braga had become very fond of Sally and was showering her with presents and even considering putting her in his will. This turn of events did not sit well with the grandchildren, especially Patricia, who had done much for Braga and believed Sally was a gold digger.

McMichael developed a different feeling about Sally. One that a homicide detective on a case should not be having. When word got out that McMichael may have compromised the investigation he found himself on the carpet. But when the investigation again led to Sally, McMichael knew he had to lead the search of her home, that he could not avoid contact with her. Based on what was found she was arrested. Sally did not take this well and McMichael believes he has lost her.

Some things did not sit well with detective McMichael, understandably. He doesn't want to wrap the case yet, and continues his investigation. And what does he find??

A decent detective story, good enough characters, kept me reading. ( )

I usually like T. Parker's work, but this one I couldn't relate to. Quite disjointed as well as pointless--maybe if he'd had been setting this up as a series it would have worked, but for a one-off, it was lacking too many important details. The one worthwhile aspect of reading this was T. Parker's excellent ability of detailing the locale. I could visualize the San Diego that McMicheal was a part of. Those cold , windy, rainy days were a refreshing respite for this reader who was suffering through a hundred plus heat wave. ( )

Amerikaanse thriller met een wat naïef hoofdpersonage én een ietwat ongeloofwaardige achtervolging op het einde. ( )