‘Wrongful Death’ by L.J. Sellers

Published by Thomas & Mercer,
24 February 2015.
ISBN: 978-1477822180

Dan Thompson is a police officer at Eugene, Oregon. He is also a caring human being who tries to make a difference. Thompson is giving out blankets and warm clothing at a homeless encampment when he is brutally stabbed to death.

For Detective Wade Jackson of the Violent Crimes Unit the pressure is on to find the killer fast before war breaks out on the streets of Eugene between the police force and the homeless community. To make things worse, Thompson was the cousin of Jackson's partner, Detective Rob Schakowski (Schak.) Two homeless, learning disabled and mentally ill twins are brought in for questioning, but Jackson is not convinced that the evidence against them is sufficient and is unwilling for them to become scapegoats because they are easy targets.

In the meantime Schak has been assigned another case, that of a teenage girl who was drugged and raped at a party and whose parents were then blackmailed: unless they paid $15,000 the rapist would put a video of Ashley's assault on the internet. The parents were unable to get the money in time and Ashley committed suicide. As Schak digs deeper it becomes clear that Ashley was not the first girl to be assaulted and then blackmailed, although the other victims had survived, which is why the police had not heard about it until now.

At first the two cases seem separate but then a sinister link appears and the detectives realise that other lives are in danger from a murderous predator.

Wrongful Death is the tenth book in the Detective Jackson series. It is a powerful book that deals with dark subjects with honesty but without gratuitous violence. The central characters are all people that are fundamentally decent and that the reader can care about, even though they don't always make the wisest of decisions. Wrongful Death is a thought-provoking book and definitely a page-turner.

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Reviewer: Carol Westron

L J Sellers writes the bestselling Detective Jackson mystery/thriller series, a Readers Favorite award winner, as well as provocative standalone thrillers. Her novels have been highly praised by Mystery Scene, Crimespree, and RT Reviews, and her Jackson books are Kindle bestsellers as well as top-ranked novels. L.J., who resides in Eugene, Oregon where her novels are set, is also an award-winning journalist who earned the Grand Neal. When not plotting murders, she enjoys standup comedy, cycling, social networking, and attending mystery conferences. She’s also been known to jump out of airplanes.

Carol Westron is a successful short story writer and a Creative Writing teacher.  She is the moderator for the cosy/historical crime panel, The Deadly Dames.  Her crime novels are set both in contemporary and Victorian times.  The Terminal Velocity of Cats is the first in her Scene of Crimes novels, was published July 2013. Her second book About the Children was published in May 2014.

www.carolwestron.com