THE FIRST CUT by Dianne Emley (Ballentine)

In her first day back on the job after a brutal attack, Nan Vining learns that she'll be relegated to the burgulary division. Despite lingering post traumatic stress symptoms, Vining wants back in homicide. In an obvious example of be careful what you wish for, Nan is pressed into duty when the nude body of an LA police officer is found in Pasadena. Emley takes the reader on both sides of the crime—inside the horrific as well as through the police investigation. The characters are well drawn and the violence, though gruesome, is not gratuitous. Dianne Emley is a writer to watch!