The Price of Innocence (Theresa MacLean Series #6)

by Lisa Black

Overview

Called out to investigate a suspected suicide in a luxury high-rise apartment, forensic scientist Theresa MacLean only just escapes with her life when the building is blown to smithereens. An accident – or something more sinister? A mostly empty block of trendy apartments in downtown Cleveland seems an unlikely terrorist target.

The following day, Theresa is examining another suspected suicide in a wealthy neighbourhood when the cop accompanying her is shot dead by an unseen assailant. Could the two events be connected?

As Theresa painstakingly pieces the clues she uncovers evidence of a dark secret in the murdered cop’s past.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780104454
Publisher:	Severn House
Publication date:	11/01/2013
Series:	Theresa MacLean Series , #6
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	76,234
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Lisa Black is a certified latent print examiner and crime scene investigator for a south Florida police department. Prior to that, she worked as a forensic scientist for the coroner's office in Cleveland, Ohio. She is the New York Times bestselling author of five previous Theresa MacLean thrillers.

Editorial Reviews

09/02/2013
Romance comes to Theresa MacLean for the first time since her fiancé’s death, in Black’s satisfying sixth mystery featuring the Cleveland forensic scientist (after Blunt Impact). From the moment Theresa meets David Madison she’s captivated. That the feeling appears to be mutual, though, only serves to make the savvy crime fighter suspicious. Questions plague her. How does he know the murder victim at whose funeral they meet? Is David connected to a 25-year-old fire in Cleveland State University student housing—a fire that’s somehow connected to a series of explosions she’s currently investigating? Are these explosions related to the sudden rash of untimely deaths among a group of old college friends? Everywhere she looks, Theresa sees vague links but no hard evidence. With only her gut to go on, she—and the reader—scud through a series of devilishly clever blind alleys and red herrings, some more contrived than others, until everything ties together. Agent: Vicky Bijur, Vicky Bijur Literary Agency. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Quick pacing, a keep-’em-guessing plot, plenty of dark humor, and a spunky, outspoken, whip-smart heroine make this a must-read for fans of Cornwall and Grafton.

Booklist

Quick pacing, a keep-’em-guessing plot, plenty of dark humor, and a spunky, outspoken, whip-smart heroine make this a must-read for fans of Cornwall and Grafton.

Booklist

Devilishly clever blind alleys and red herrings”
Publishers Weekly on The Price of Innocence

From the Publisher

2013-10-20
A series of routine suicide probes turns deadly for a Cleveland crime scene investigator. Fresh from a murder at the site of the planned Cuyahoga County jail (Blunt Impact, 2013, etc.), forensic scientist Theresa McLean and her cousin, homicide detective Frank Patrick, have just finished checking out the self-inflicted wounds on a body in the Bingham, a chic condo complex in the gentrified Warehouse District, when the whole trendy building explodes. The next morning, a quickly recovered Theresa is checking another self-shooter on Lake Shore Boulevard when the uniform with her, 15-year vet Marty Davis, gets shot in a drive-by. Oliver, the medical examiner's toxicologist, identifies the explosive that took down the Bingham as nitrogen triiodide, and the coroner identifies one of the victims as Nairit Kadam, a Middle Easterner with ties to Georgian radicals. So, the Bingham explosion is starting to shape up as a terrorist attack. But then some of Marty's old pals turn up. Lily Sampson is hoping to inherit some of her old boyfriend's loot to feed her drug habit. And Ken Bilecki, who'll smoke just about anything that can be ignited, isn't far behind. Now, the Bingham looks more like a meth cook gone bad. But before Theresa can decide whether to call Homeland Security or the Drug Enforcement Agency, another explosion at Bruce Lambert's research lab suggests that there may be a third, even more complex explanation. Once again, Black constructs a puzzle that weaves old crimes with new, always leaving room for one more twist.

Kirkus Reviews