A KILLING IN CHINA BASIN

When a young woman is found strangled in an empty building in China Basin, San Francisco homicide inspector Ben Raveneau and his ambitious new partner, Elizabeth la Rosa, embark on their first case together. 

Before the case is solved, the death of cancer-ridden homicide detective Ted Whitacre throws up a possible connection with an old case.  Thanks to Whitacre, Cody Stoltz was arrested for murder, but has now been released from jail.  Is he seeking revenge?  Is there any connection between Whitacre’s death and Raveneau’s murder case?

There is a stark journalistic writing style to this book that makes it difficult to connect to any of the characters – the only insight we get into how they feel is through what is revealed in dialogue.  Events are also reported in an accelerated way, which means sometimes it’s easy to miss a crucial clue because it’s relayed in one short sentence, tucked away in a paragraph reporting several key events.

In spite of this, though, there’s an interesting mystery unravelling.  Two seemingly unconnected deaths are neatly resolved, and there is a bit of a twist in the final resolution.  I would recommend sticking with it to the end, for this is a book worth reading.