Done Wrong (Marti MacAlister Mystery) [Hardcover]

Eleanor Taylor Bland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1995

Illinois policewoman Marti MacAlister investigates the death of her husband--a fellow cop--confronting police bureaucracy and dangers of the streets and risking more than she can afford to find the truth.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Introduced in Dead Time (1992), widow Marti MacAlister is a moral and tenacious, middle-class black policewoman. In her fourth appearance, the former Chicago cop, now a homicide detective in a northern suburb, investigates the mysterious death three years earlier of her husband, Johnny, a narc. A colleague of Johnny's has apparently committed suicide, but his widow convinces Marti that both officers' deaths may not have been what they seemed. One of their superiors, retired to a life of suspicious affluence, has recently taken to cruising the streets with a loaded gun. As Marti investigates, she confronts difficult memories and the realization that her husband may have kept a secret or two. Everything about Bland's writing is subdued?the action is studied and clinical, the detecting methodical; even the angst is low-key and familial as Marti and her two children continue to adjust to their new suburban lives. Sticking to gritty, unglamorous storytelling, Bland may not write the most exciting mysteries around, but the understated Marti is a strong, quiet presence, and her story resonates.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Marti MacAlister shared more than just a good marriage and two kids with her husband, Johnny. Like her, he was a cop--until he was found shot through the head. Although Marti has learned to accept Johnny's death, she has never accepted Internal Affairs' ruling of suicide. When a narc squad cop Johnny worked with jumps--or is pushed?--to his death from the roof of a parking garage, Marti begins to suspect a connection to Johnny's death. She's determined to find that connection--and maybe to clear Johnny's name in the process. Bland's novel, the fourth in a fine series, boasts a tightly woven plot, fine writing, and plenty of action, but what really distinguishes it is the depiction of Marti MacAlister--a tough, smart cop and a loving woman who successfully juggles kids, career, community, family, and friends. Emily Melton

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (June 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312130538
• ISBN-13: 978-0312130534
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,197,783 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SETTING THINGS RIGHT, April 1, 2001

By 

Bonita L. Davis - See all my reviews

This review is from: Done Wrong (Mass Market Paperback)

Three years have passed since the death of Marti's husband in an undercover narcotics operation. His death was thought a suicide. Although Marti had her doubts she never pushed for any further information. Now another agent has died under similar circumstances. Like Marti, this agent's wife is told that the death is a probable suicide. His widow informs Marti that he too was suspicious about her husband's death and was asking questions.

Marti sees that she can no longer remain silent. She must set the record straight over her husband's death. In this mystery we come across a different Marti as she relives the pain, shock and memories of her husband's death. You find a woman who is very sensitive but must hold back her emotions in order to unravel this long overdue mystery. Watch her and Vik weave through a quagmire of police cronyism and corruption as they uncover information long hidden in the investigation of her husband's death and those of other key players.

Brace yourself for the violence, racism and betrayal of friends as these two detectives pour through the evidence that will put their lives in danger. This side of Marti is one in which you will never forget.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worth reading., June 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Done Wrong (Mass Market Paperback)

It took me a few books to get into Ms. Bland's style of writing but now her character, Marti McAlister, is one of my favorite detective stories. In this one Marti finds out more than she bargained for regarding the death of her husband. When she pulled the puzzle pieces together I was both happy for her and enraged about the findings all at the same time.

Thanks Ms. Bland for writing a good detective novel with a main character that just happens to be black and female.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good, but with a few weak points, February 17, 2001

By 

"lucy19" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Done Wrong (Mass Market Paperback)

The various relationships Marti has with her kids, partner and boyfriend are some of the highlights in this book, indeed in the Marti McAlister series. And for the most part, the mystery itself is well plotted. However, I felt a little let down when Johnny's killer was revealed, not just because it was telegraphed about 10 to 20 pages prior to the revelation but also because it was kind of lame. Also, I didn't buy Marti's reasons for waiting three years to look into her beloved husband's death. This is a man she's known since childhood; the father of her children; the love of her life; the only man she's ever been intimate with. And she waits three years to find out why he died? Plus, she only looked into it because several people prodded her to do it. Why? If you know in your bones that your man didn't kill himself, and common sense ought to tell you that an experienced cop really can't accidentally shoot himself in the head, it kind of only leaves one conclusion. That plot point stuck with me, unfortunately, throughout the book, lessening my enjoyment. Still, it's a decent read, as ETB is a talented writer. If this is the low point of her series, then it's a series woth having.