East of the Sun: A Jace Salome Novel

In Barker’s down and dirty follow-up to 2014’s Slow Bleed, Deputy Jace Salome of Zachary County, Tex., has earned the enmity of some of her colleagues, who dismiss her as a “newbie worm,” by outing a corrupt cop. On Christmas night at the Zachary City jail, where Jace is on duty, an alarm goes off indicating a security breach. When Jace checks out the jail’s medical area, she runs into trusted inmate Bobby Mercer, who, mop in hand, indicates he’s going about his usual cleaning duties. Down the hall, Francis “Doc” Wrubel, one of the jail’s physicians, is lying in a pool of blood. Det. Von Holton, one of Jace’s enemies, is sure that Bobby murdered Doc and orders Jace to find evidence of his guilt. In her quest for the real culprit, Jace follows up hints and rumors from inmates about drug dealing and abuse. As she begins to weed out false leads, she invites retaliation. This ragged outing will appeal to those who are content with serviceable prose and shallow characterizations. (Dec.)