A False Dawn

Lowe's debut offers little suspense or surprise, though well-crafted prose suggests he's capable of better. Ex-Miami homicide cop Sean O'Brien, who's retreated to a house on Florida's St. Johns River, carries the usual baggage for a reluctant hero. His wife died from cancer six months earlier, and his policeman father was shot dead in the line of duty when he was a child. O'Brien calls in the Volusia County police after discovering a severely beaten, dying young woman on the river bank. O'Brien soon finds himself attracted to one investigating officer, Det. Leslie Moore, and at odds with another, Det. Mitchell Slater, who he believes may be covering up for the killer. Predictably, the unidentified woman's slaying may be connected with an unsolved serial murder case O'Brien worked on in Miami. Suspects include some powerful locals possibly involved in sex trafficking. O'Brien could sustain a series if he's attached to less by-the-numbers story lines in the future. Author tour. (Apr.)