Anyone who has been a screenwriter for the iconic 1980’s New York police drama Hill Street Blues (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_Street_Blues) has credibility in my book. Robert Crais (http://www.robertcrais.com/) turned to writing novels in 1987 with The Monkey’s Raincoat and has subsequently built up a large body of work. He has stated that “Thematically, again and again my books are about people who are trying to be better than they have been.” Why not give his latest, Suspect, a try? The summary goes as follows. LAPD cop Max Kent is not doing so well. Eight months ago, a shocking nighttime assault by unidentified men killed his partner Allie, nearly killed him, and left him enraged, ashamed, and ready to explode. He is unfit for duty – until he meets his new partner. Maggie is not doing so well, either. A German shepherd who survived three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan sniffing explosives before losing her handler to an IED, her PTSD is as bad as Max’s. They are each other’s last chance. Shunned and shunted to the side, they set out to investigate the one case that no one wants them to touch: the identity of the men who murdered Allie. What they begin to find is nothing like what Max has been told, and the journey will take them both through the darkest moments of their own personal hells. Whether they will make it out again, no one can say.
320 pages in Orion
ISBN 978-1409126584
Robert Crais