cover image Record of Wrongs

Record of Wrongs

Andy Straka, . . Five Star, $25.95 (381pp) ISBN 978-1-59414-652-7

At the start of Shamus-winner Straka's disappointing thriller, a departure from his popular Frank Pavlicek series (Cold Quarry , etc.), former campus security guard Quentin Price is released from an upstate New York prison. New DNA evidence suggests Price is not guilty of the crime for which he was convicted—the rape and murder of college student Gwen Crawford nearly a decade earlier. Now Ruth Crawford, the victim's mother, wants Price's help in tracking down the real culprit. When the New York State attorney general drafts Garnell Harris, a veteran NYPD homicide detective, to take a fresh look at Gwen's murder and its possible links to some recent killings, Price finds himself under pressure to bring the true killer to justice. The underdeveloped plot, an unsurprising resolution and the unconvincing 11th-hour redemption of a particularly nasty character make this one of Straka's lesser efforts. Hopefully, this talented author will return to form with his next book. (Feb.)