Mission Hill

The worst of times seem to bring out the best in hard-charging Boston homicide prosecutor Abby Endicott, as shown in Wechsler’s muscular debut, the first in a series. Fellow prosecutor Tim Mooney, to whom Abby is close, has just been murdered in Jamaica Plain execution-style, on the eve of delivering his opening statement at the trial of gangbanger Orlando Jones, whom Abby blames for the death of her childhood best friend 17 years earlier. Abby being Abby—keen not to let anyone think that her pampered Beacon Hill upbringing and designer duds signify softness—there’s no way that she’s not going to commandeer the case, even if her involvement could jeopardize the prosecution, not to mention her life. Though the swiftly moving plot offers plenty of surprises, it’s the realism with which the author, a seasoned Boston criminal prosecutor who’s now a legal consultant for TV shows, depicts varied worlds from Brahmin glitzy to Roxbury gritty that will make readers eager for Abby’s next adventure. [em]Agent: Victoria Skurnick, Levine Greenberg Literary Agency. (May) [/em]