A former deputy district attorney in Portland, Oregon, Alafair Burke now teaches criminal law at Hofstra Law School. The daughter of acclaimed crime writer James Lee Burke, she is a graduate of Stanford Law School. Read More> Follow Alafair on:

The Books 212 When New York University sophomore Megan Gunther finds personal threats posted to a Web site specializing in campus gossip, she's taken aback by their menacing tone. Someone knows her daily routine down to the minute and is watching her — but thanks to the anonymity provided by the Internet, the police tell her there's nothing they can do. Her friends are sure it's someone's idea of a joke, but when Megan is murdered in a vicious attack, NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher is convinced that the online threats are more than just empty words. Read More Buy Angel's Tip In a city full of victims . . . it's hard to choose just one. Fresh-faced Indiana college student Chelsea Hart is so excited to spend the final hours of her spring break in the VIP room of an elite New York City club that she remains behind when her girlfriends call it a night. The next morning, as her concerned friends anxiously pace their hotel lobby, joggers find Chelsea's body in East River Park, her wavy blond hair brutally hacked off. (Ellie Hatcher Series) Read More Buy Dead Connection In this electrifying thriller, a rookie detective goes undercover on the Internet dating scene to draw out a serial killer targeting single women in Manhattan. (Ellie Hatcher Series) Read More Buy Close Case Investigating the brutal murder of a hotshot journalist, Samantha Kincaid finds herself caught in the middle of an increasingly personal -- and potentially dangerous -- struggle between Portland's police and the DA's office. (Samantha Kincaid Series) Read More Buy Missing Justice In the second entry in this "sharp, new crime series" (Publishers Weekly), the search for a missing judge leads Samantha Kincaid into Portland politics and a labyrinth of crime, corruption, and cover-ups. (Samantha Kincaid Series) Read More Buy Judgment Calls When a thirteen-year-old girl is brutally attacked and left for dead on the city's outskirts, Deputy District Attorney Samantha Kincaid sets out to bring the assailants to justice. But as she prepares for the trial, the seemingly simple assault case spirals into a complex web of violence and deception. (Samantha Kincaid Series) Read More Buy