Authorized Personnel Only

An outbreak of E. coli has thinned the detective ranks of the Chicago police department, so officer Suze Figueroa has been detached to temporary duty investigating a couple of bodies that turned up under the elevated train tracks. The location is a stone's throw from the precinct headquarters, and the killings are similar enough in modus operandi to make Suze wonder if there's a serial killer preying on the homeless. She's still working her regular caseload, which includes a pickpocket who's been targeting women shoppers at the luxury department stores on the Miracle Mile and a thief who robbed a currency exchange. And this is not to mention managing a few complications on the home front, including her sister Sheryl's agonizingly slow recovery from a serious accident and a dangerous pederast who's hiding in her attic. The plucky policewoman's personal and professional lives collide with violent and startling results in the penultimate pages of this somewhat unfocused crime thriller. Barbara D'Amato's pacing isn't as strong here as it's been in her previous outings (Good Cop, Bad Cop, Killer.app), and the murderer's identity is telegraphed well in advance of the denouement. What's more important, the reader never gets under Suze's skin enough to know what motivates her. But it's a good enough effort to keep D'Amato's hometown fans in Chicago happy until the next one comes along. --Jane Adams