Starred review from October 2, 1995
Street life and the surreal political culture of the 1970s combine explosively, making Edgar Award winner Hornsby's fourth Maggie MacGowen novel (following Bad Intent) a tour de force. Independent filmmaker Maggie has a contract with a TV network to produce a documentary on the unsolved 1974 murder of L.A. cop Roy Frady, who made a name for himself in the LAPD's anti-gang unit, CRASH. She's especially eager for what the project may tell her about her lover, Detective Mike Flint, who was one of Frady's best friends. More than one gang member, striving for street credibility, claimed to have killed Frady, but none of their stories held up. Now, as Maggie talks to former wives and lovers of the dead cop, she finds that the trail leads to the Symbionese Liberation Army and the kidnapping of Patti Hearst. Then, just as she thinks she might be getting a handle on Frady's life and death, her sources are killed off. As devastating as the trip back to 1974 is for Maggie, it becomes even more harrowing for Mike, who must own up to the follies of his youth. Hornsby's powerful writing and her equally thought-provoking story blend to make this one of the most gripping, compelling mysteries of the year.