Dead Lies

Police officer Anna Valentine, the heroine of Loening’s uneven first novel, gave up her job with the NYPD after a tragic accident and moved with her troubled young son to work in a posh New Jersey suburb. Now she’s just been assigned her first homicide—the Christmas Day slaying of a wealthy husband and wife. Hopes for healing and a quiet life are further complicated by her powerful attraction to the successful and sensitive brother of one of the victims. Loening builds the case with poise while capably shifting among characters’ perspectives. At weaker moments, descriptions can lean toward the ham-fisted and mundane (“She was smart, and he’d enjoyed hearing her intelligent observations of the crime scene. And did he mention she was sexy as hell? It was her eyes. Those beautiful sexy eyes”), and Anna’s personality could use a little roughening around the edges. Still, as betrayals and sinister secrets slowly come to light, this first in a planned series unfolds into a satisfying, if not altogether memorable, mystery. [em](BookLife) [/em]