Customer Reviews

Evidence of Murder: A Novel of Suspense

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Last year I read Takeover by Lisa Black. It was her first novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I listed it as one of my top reads of 2008. I was excited to get an email from Lisa a few weeks ago saying that her next novel is out. Evidence of Murder starts off about 8 months after the end of Takeover.

I have to say I was kind of disappointed in this book. It did not have the 'wow' or the suspense that I expected. However, it was still a good read. The characters are believable but could be a bit more....something. The word stiff comes to mind but am just thinking that they could have been more fleshed out or something. I think they didn't really do anything in the story - Theresa was depressed and yet I didn't feel for her.

The plot was very good. I liked the way it was all set up and the work Theresa did within her job and on her own. I was guessing right up to the end on the 'whodunit' - right along with Theresa. She thought she knew who was the killer but there were enough doubts around to make me wonder too. That was fun.

Overall, it was a good book, but not a great one. I am interested to know what others have thought. And I would like to read more from Ms. Black.

Eight months have passed since Cleveland forensic expert and single mom Theresa MacLean's fiancé Paul Cleary was killed during a bank robbery. She has tried to move on, but still grieves her loss and struggles at home and on the job.

The murdered corpse of twenty-four year old former escort Jillian Perry is found in the nearby woods. Theresa's cousin homicide detective Frank asks her to help him on the investigation. She disagrees with the prevalent police theory that Jillian committed suicide. Instead Jillian had turned her life around and had every reason to live as she loved and cherished her five-month-old child and was a newlywed with an adoring husband, who along with a partner was about to make millions on a video game they invented. Soon after she joins the inquiry, a man steps forward claiming he is Jillian's boyfriend and files for custody of her baby.

The sequel to TAKEOVER is a fabulous forensic investigative thriller as the murder case ironically brings Theresa back to life though she still mourns her loss. The police investigation is intelligent though it contains a high degree of implausibility. Still the audience will not care as readers will root for the heroine who brings sass and wit to the job.

Harriet Klausner

This is another twist on forensic science aiding in capturing a killer who is extremely intelligent and has access to sophisticated equipment.

Theresa MacLean is a forensic investigator whose job requires her to work in the lab, most of the time. But when it comes to Jillian Perry's untimely death, she feels emotions tugging at her that have been dormant since the death of her fiancé. Jillian and her daughter Cara become an obsession that Theresa must satisfy.

Theresa finds herself looking for forensic evidence to convict Jillian's husband for her death. He is a super computer techie with access to all kinds of equipment and chemicals. No one believes Theresa and she puts everything on the line to solve this murder.

Along the way, she enlists the aid of her co-workers who all seem to be stock characters from TV, movies and books. Not much help, no depth to their personalities, but they do play their roles here in this novel.

This is a light, quick read. More like a summer salad than a three course meal. The character of Theresa is flawed, but as usual, she recovers most of her personality as she goes along.

I really enjoyed Lisa Black's storyline, but a few parts were so filled with forensic details it got a bit dry.

A young mother is found dead with no apparent cause of death. Could the perfect crime really have been committed? Forensic scientist Theresa has set her teeth in this case and will not let loose until she finds the answers.

I really like Black's main character Theresa and the hostage negotiater Chris Cavanaugh. I think the two of them would make a great team (on and off the job)!

Jillian Perry's body is found dead in the woods. With very few clues to go on, her death appears to be a suicide. Jillian Perry was newly married with a daughter. What woman walks out into the forest alone and simply freezes to death? To forensic scientist Theresa MacLean, something just does not add up to suicide, but can she prove it? Fighting her own emotional crisis, this case might be exactly what she needs to focus herself. Just as she thinks she knows the answer, another suspect emerges. When an ex-boyfriend shows up seeking custody of Jillian's daughter, Theresa's investigation uncovers more complications. Can she trust the information he provides? Will Theresa find the evidence of murder to stop a possible killer in his tracks before more are harmed.

In EVIDENCE OF MURDER, a sequel to TAKEOVER, Lisa Black brings the reader inside the emotional world of forensic scientist Theresa MacLean as she recuperates from her last case. Readers are strongly advised to read the two books in order, not only to avoid spoilers but also to discover the author's ability to portray her character with continuity from book to book. While certain scenes lead to a chilling, dangerous chase, Lisa Black's suspense will appeal most to suspense readers looking for a mysterious puzzle rather than shock, mad races, and overkill drama that often fill the suspense genre. The details of the crime are quite ingenious and unforgettable. The path to discovery of this mysterious death fascinates as Theresa delves into cutting edge game technology, corporate greed and the most timeless motive, obsessive love. Lisa Black maintains the mystery right up until the very end. The emotional world of Theresa MacLean adds a richness to her character without dragging the novel down and away from the case itself. Practical, hard-working, no-nonsense, yet not without emotion, Theresa MacLean is a character who grows on a reader from book to book.

Lisa Black's entry into the suspense genre is most welcome indeed! If you love suspense that keeps you poised on the edge of your seat by the clues rather than quick-paced action, EVIDENCE OF MURDER fits the bill. Certainly, fast-paced scenes do lead up to the resolution, but Lisa Black's talent is most discernible in her ability to plot a case based on clues and evidence. EVIDENCE OF MURDER is suspense that relies on an intelligent unraveling of the mystery through the forensics and suspect interviews without the gore often associated with forensic thrillers.

Courtesy of Book Illuminations

Persistence is a virtue, and Theresa MacLean, a forensic scientist in the M.E.'s office exhibits plenty of that in this novel in which she still has not recovered from the death of her fiancé. A young woman has been found frozen to death on the shores of Lake Erie in Cleveland and there are almost no clues as to the cause of death. She left behind a husband of three weeks and a young baby.

Theresa smells a rat and she can't let go of the case. She learns that the baby has received a $1.5 million inheritance from its grandparents and Theresa suspects that the baby's life is in danger because of the money. But unless she can prove murder, and she can't seem to find any evidence, there might be another death in the near future.

This reader found the book slow reading, bogged down in minutiae and over-detailed descriptions, especially of forensics procedures. But for this criticism, it is an interesting and well-drawn plot, with an exciting but rather implausible conclusion.