Meet Jo Beckett - a forensic psychiatrist who profiles victims lives to help solve their deaths. On a San Francisco street, Jo confronts a scene of pure carnage: four dead and five injured after a high speed pursuit. In the mangled remains of a BMW lies prosecutor Callie Harding, dead with the word 'dirty' written in lipstick on her thigh. Why did Harding run from the police? Why did she crash through a bridge railing? Was it an accident? Suicide? Or murder? Jo is a last resort in difficult cases. But now she's on the front line, because Callie Harding isnt the first high flyer to go down and take others with her. And if Jo can't figure out why the prosecutor died, Harding won't be the last. Jo's about to discover how dirty some secrets can be.
Where has Meg Gardiner been hiding? This was fabulous! It’s been a while since I’ve been so taken with a new (or new to me) suspense writer. The action in this book starts almost immediately with a crazy dare and the death of a U.S. Attorney. Jo Beckett is a really interesting character with a profession that I haven’t seen explored before (if it actually even exists!) — forensic psychology. Instead of determining how someone died, it’s Jo’s job to determine the why, not only to help with the official police investigation, but also to provide closure to the family of the victims. There are tons of twists in this story as it unfolds, along with a solid cast of characters. Each one is their own person, from Jo’s quirky next-door neighbor to the spunky detective she’s working with to the paramedic with a tie to Jo’s tragic past. And what is this club really about? Sex? Money? Revenge? The relief of unburdening oneself? This will most definitely not be the last Meg Gardiner book I read.
