Lauren Starkley, a widowed single mom, and a beat cop in San Francisco, has a rebellious teen, a night-shift partner with family issues, and a crush on the captain—her boss. When Lauren and her partner stumble on a series of sex crimes, close to her own neighborhood, she does a little off duty detecting. Lauren earns official trouble for her efforts, but the warnings from her superiors don’t keep her from tugging at elusive clues. And Lauren finds she’s put both her daughter and herself in mortal danger.
Reviews
I haven’t read a page-turner that scared me as much as this one did! Loved it!!! I really enjoyed the intense nature of the story and could not put it down once I started reading. I actually was afraid to turn the page…but couldn’t help myself. Now that’s a good read!
— Francine Marsh
Another excellent book by Linda Berry! I found the characters very engaging and was surprised by the various unexpected plot twists. I don’t normally read for very long at a time, but I couldn’t put it down for the last several chapters. A real page turner!
— Dana L. Hardy
Pretty Corpse, Linda Berry’s second novel after Hidden, is an atmospheric, fast-paced and well-plotted thriller. The synopsis sums up the book, but what it doesn’t tell the reader is that the author delivers on capturing the tensions between a mother and own mother, between a mother and her teenaged daughter, and interoffice politics and romance. There are twists and turns, an unexpected rival and alliances. Berry’s Officer Lauren Starkley can hold her own against the boys. It’s also a refreshing change not to have a damaged or otherwise flawed main character. Starkley has to contend with real issues: a dangerous job, a somewhat rebellious, but otherwise good kid, an opinionated mother, and single parenthood (widowed, which is also a refreshing change). Set aside time for a fast read with emotional resonance, intelligent minds (Lauren and Linda) at work, and a colorful cast of characters (loved Peanut) as a creep of a criminal plays cat and mouse with one of San Francisco’s finest.
— Gabriel Valjan, author of the Roma Suspense Series