One danger for a narrator who creates voices for a variety of characters is lack of consistency. Ray Chase’s narration shines at times, bringing human voices to numerous characters. But several main characters’ voices frequently suffer from inconsistency, speaking with a certain tone and cadence one time and a completely different voice the next. This police procedural is set against the backdrop of Martin Luther King’s marches in Birmingham in 1963. It brings to light racial injustices in the South and explores the motivations of both the established order and the Civil Rights activists. One of Cook’s earlier works, its setting and many events are accurate, but its story is weakened by stereotypical characters and weak or obvious plot devices. M.L.R. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

In this expert, relentless detective novel by the author of Flesh and Blood and last year's Edgar-nominated Sacrificial Ground , the sweltering, angry summer of 1963 in Birmingham, Ala., serves to make every crime a powderkeg of racial tension. As the rest of the police force is being called upon to hose demonstrators, to arrest marching schoolchildren and even to take notes on Martin Luther King's speeches for their inflammatory content, detective Ben Wellman investigates the rape and murder of a deaf 12-year-old black girl. Wellman's boss wants him to make a minor show of concern without really pursuing the criminal, the black community greets his efforts with mistrust and skepticism, and his fellow cops, most of them rednecks and racists, view his dedication as misplaced. As Wellman probes further, he discovers that all sides have reasons to hope that the case remains unsolved. Cook doesn't use the civil rights movement merely as a conveniently atmospheric backdrop; he weaves it through the plot in sharp, unexpected ways, never letting his focus stray too far from Wellman's dogged attempt to find an elusive killer. Paperback rights to Warner Books; movie rights to Hollywood Pictures; Preferred Choice and Detective Book Club selections; BOMC and Mys terious Book Club alternates. (Sept.)

Set in Birmingham, Alabama, in May 1963, amid the social upheaval of the Freedom Marches led by Martin Luther King Jr., this powerful crime novel evokes all of the emotionalism that prevailed at the time. The body of a little black girl is found in a shallow grave in a football field in Bearmatch, a poor black district of the city. Homicide sergeant Ben Wellman uses all of his tolerance and training during the investigation, which meets with resistance and prejudice from the police and the black community. Cook, nominated for a Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Sacrificial Ground (LJ 3/1/88), reaffirms his ability to create realistic characterization and vivid narrative, then wrap it all up in a tightly plotted, cleverly clued mystery. Sure to be one of the big books of 1989. BOMC and Mystery Book Club featured alternates; Preferred Choice Book Club main selection.-- Jo Ann Vicarel, Cleveland Heights-University Heights P.L., Ohio

One danger for a narrator who creates voices for a variety of characters is lack of consistency. Ray Chase’s narration shines at times, bringing human voices to numerous characters. But several main characters’ voices frequently suffer from inconsistency, speaking with a certain tone and cadence one time and a completely different voice the next. This police procedural is set against the backdrop of Martin Luther King’s marches in Birmingham in 1963. It brings to light racial injustices in the South and explores the motivations of both the established order and the Civil Rights activists. One of Cook’s earlier works, its setting and many events are accurate, but its story is weakened by stereotypical characters and weak or obvious plot devices. M.L.R. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine