TRACE EVIDENCE

TITLE: TRACE EVIDENCE
AUTHOR: ELIZABETH BECKA
Pages: 319
Date: 04/08/2007
Grade: 4-
Details: nr. 1 Evelyn James, Forensic Scientist, Mystery?
Library

Evelyn James is a forensic Scientist in Cleveland, who gets called out one night when the body of a girl is found in a river. The girl's feet are in a bucket of cement, her body wrapped in chains; it's a most horrific scene.
Then the Mayor's daughter is found, also murdered by the same person, and an already pressing case receives a new sense of urgency.
For Evelyn, this last murder makes the case personal and more complicated, since the Mayor used to be her boyfriend in college.
Messing up this case could cost Evelyn her job, but uncovering the clues might just cost her her life.
This wasn't a bad mystery, but a bit of a struggle to read because there were too many side stories going on besides the mystery.
Between Evelyn's divorce, her past relationship with the Mayor, the problems with her teenage daughter, and the mutual attraction with police officer David Milaski, who has his own personal history and problems, it at times felt as if there wasn't enough room in this book to hold all the elements and keep the story moving.
Still, if this is the first book in a new series, as it appears to be, I may try a second book when it comes out. This could be very good, if the author could start diversifying a little bit less.