Synopses & Reviews
"A bold, brash entry into the world of crime fiction. Judgment Calls is strong, smart, and shocking." - Linda Fairstein
A Judgment In Question
After three years on the job in Portland's Drug and Vice Division, Deputy DA Samantha Kincaid gets what she wants: her first case with the Major Crimes Team. Kendra Martin, a 13-year-old runaway, has been found drugged, viciously assaulted, and left for dead in the Columbia River Gorge. Despite pressures to kick the case to assault, Samantha goes for attempted murder. Unfortunately the girl's story isn't gelling. Then again, neither is the alibi of the suspect she ID'd, a low-life who insists he's innocent. One thing is certain. Kendra knows the streets better than Vice-and Samantha's following her down every last one of them to crack the case.
A Life On The Line
But the road to the truth is more dangerous than Samantha dreamed, leading to an earlier death-penalty conviction, a teenage prostitution ring, and threats to Samantha's own life. When the possibility of a serial killer enters the fray, it sends Samantha's trial into a tailspin, and tests her judgment-in both her professional and personal life-to the very death.
"This is smart, savvy, expert-and highly recommended."
- Lee Child
"First-rate, suspenseful entertainment...we'll be hearing more from tough, tart, sexy,
high-minded Samantha Kincaid."
-Washington Post
Review:
"Burke (herself a former Portland deputy D.A.-turned-law professor) is a splendid guide through [the novel's] satisfyingly twisty plot." The Seattle Times
Review:
"This is a solid debut, and the publisher promises that we'll be hearing more from tough, tart, sexy, high-minded Samantha Kincaid." Patrick Anderson, The Washington Post Book World
Review:
"[A]n accomplished and thrilling tale....[A]n engrossing novel that compares to the best of the genre." Rocky Mountain News
Review:
"Burke's earnest, fast-paced debut introduces a sharp new crime series revolving around Deputy DA Samantha 'Sam' Kincaid, a hip, 30ish lawyer working in Portland's Drug and Vice Division....[A] solid first effort from Burke." Publishers Weekly
Review:
"Burke blends courtroom drama and criminal investigation with surprising aplomb, and she uses her Northwest setting to good advantage....This promising debut augurs well for a successful series..." Mary Frances Wilkens, Booklist
Review:
"Burke...writes with both a clarity and a self-assuredness that belies her first-novelist status. The plot lines are tightly woven, and she adroitly ties things together in the end. This is the first in what should be a popular series..." Library Journal
Review:
"Judgment Calls is a remarkable debut — a skillfully told tale with memorable characters and plot twists that will keep readers involved from the first page to the satisfying end." Jan Burke, New York Times-bestselling author of Bones
Review:
"Captivating. Alafair Burke is a wonderful writer, with the kind of skill and confidence I most admire! I'm a big fan and look forward to the next novel in the series." Sue Grafton, New York Times-bestselling author of Q is for Quarry
Review:
"Judgment Calls expertly shows that the most gripping drama is not found in the courtroom but in places where choices get made in the shadows cast by politics and corruption and human desires. Burke comes out of the gate with a first novel that proves she's got what it takes and will be sticking around." Michael Connelly, bestselling author of Blood Work and Chasing the Dime
Review:
"A terrific debut; very different from her famous father's work, but the storytelling DNA is all there, for sure. This is smart, savvy, expert — and highly recommended." Lee Child, bestselling author of Perusader
Review:
"[R]eads like an extended tutorial on how to prosecute crimes on borderline evidence....But will it be enough to draw us forward to the next installment, already in the works? Competent but routine." Kirkus Reviews
Review:
"Alafair Burke has been on the front line in the courtroom and the streets, and brings her world alive in this exciting first novel." Linda Fairstein, author of The Kills
Review:
"If you love Law and Order, you'll love Judgment Calls." New Orleans Times-Picayune
Review:
"A grabber of a first novel." Houston Chronicle
Review:
"Judgment Calls is a fine work, introducing what I hope will be a long-running series....Alafair Burke has arrived on the crime fiction scene in dramatic fashion....Believe the hype — she's going to go very far." January Magazine
Review:
"It's no mystery why Alafair Burke's first novel, Judgment Calls, is already getting rave reviews....Burke demonstrates a natural-born propensity for suspense." Phoenix New Times
Review:
"Burke definitely stands on her own merits as she delivers a debut that immediately springs to life....[It] would be an engrossing read no matter whose name was on the cover." South Florida Sun Sentinel
Synopsis:
A seemingly simple assault case spirals into a complex web of violence and deception in this bold debut legal thriller by the daughter of acclaimed crime writer James Lee Burke.
About the Author
A former deputy district attorney in Portland, Oregon, Alafair Burke now teaches criminal law at Hofstra School of Law and lives on Long Island, New York. She is the daughter of acclaimed crime writer James Lee Burke. Henry Holt will publish the second Samantha Kincaid mystery,
Missing Justice, in spring 2004.
