ALAFAIR BURKE
NY Times Bestselling Author
A seemingly simple assault case spirals into a complex web of violence and deception in this bold debut thriller
Deputy District Attorney Samantha Kincaid walks into her office in Portland's Drug and Vice Division one Monday morning to find three police officers waiting for her. A thirteen-year-old girl has been brutally attacked and left for dead on the city's outskirts. Given the lack of evidence, most lawyers would settle for an assault charge; Samantha, unnerved by the viciousness of the crime, decides to go for attempted murder. But as she prepares for the trial, she uncovers a dangerous trail leading to a high-profile death penalty case, a prostitution ring of underage girls, and a possible serial killer. And she finds her judgment—not only in matters of the law but in her personal life—called into question.
“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.”
-Publishers Weekly
JUDGEMENT CALLS
The bold debut thriller that received high praise from the biggest names in crime fiction.
Deputy District Attorney Samantha Kincaid walks into her office in Portland’s Drug and Vice Division one Monday morning to find the sergeant of the police bureau’s vice unit waiting for her.
A thirteen-year-old girl has been brutally attacked and left for dead on the city’s outskirts. Given the lack of evidence, most lawyers would settle for an assault charge; Samantha, unnerved by the viciousness of the crime, decides to go for attempted murder.
But as she prepares for the trial, she uncovers a dangerous trail leading to a high-profile death penalty case, a prostitution ring of underage girls, and a possible serial killer. And she finds her judgment — not only in matters of the law but in her personal life — called into question.
In Samantha Kincaid, Alafair Burke has created a complex, appealing character — a woman consumed by a sense of justice, who is also tough enough to take on a man’s world.
Seamlessly juxtaposing courtroom scenes with those of criminal investigation, Judgment Calls reveals not only an insider’s knowledge of the criminal justice system but a fresh new voice in the world of crime writing.
PRAISE FOR JUDGEMENT CALLS
“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.”
-Publishers Weekly
“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.”
-Booklist
“First-rate, suspenseful entertainment . . . we’ll be hearing more from tough, tart, sexy, high-minded Samantha Kincaid.”
-Washington Post
“If you love “Law and Order,” you’ll love Judgment Calls.”
-New Orleans Times-Picayune“A grabber of a first novel.”
-Houston Chronicle
“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
“Alafair Burke is the real deal . . . Judgment Calls is a fine work, introducing what I hope will be a long-running series about the trials and tribulations of Samantha Kincaid . . . with Judgment Calls, Alafair Burke has arrived on the crime fiction scene in dramatic fashion . . . in a year during which there have already been many worthy debut novels to choose from, Alafair Burke’s entry must be considered one of the top choices. Believe the hype-she’s going to go very far.”
-January Magazine
“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