Brutality

April 27, 2015
In Thoft’s captivating third Fina Ludlow novel (after 2014’s Identity), the feisty Boston PI tries to find out who attacked Liz Barone, a researcher at New England University, in her Hyde Park home, putting her in Mass. General Hospital with a severe subdural hematoma and a slim chance of recovery. Fina thinks the assault may have been provoked by the lawsuit Liz filed against New England University blaming them for the mild cognitive impairment she was experiencing, allegedly the result of injuries sustained when she played on the university’s soccer team 20 years earlier. In the course of the investigation, Fina must overcome university politics, the petty rivalries among the employees of the research lab where Liz worked, and a strained relationship with the police, who resent her interference in their case. Fina uncovers a host of secrets as she confronts a myriad of potential suspects, including Liz’s husband and the university officials opposing the lawsuit, en route to the satisfying conclusion. Agent: Helen Brann, Helen Brann Agency.

April 15, 2015
A whirlwind of a Boston-based detective with a fluid sense of ethics finds answers for a grieving mother. When a home invasion leaves Liz Barone in a coma, her mother, Bobbi, hires Josefina Ludlow to find out why anyone would hurt her daughter-a hard worker, a loyal wife, and a dedicated mother. Fina suspects it's related to the lawsuit Liz was bringing against her employer and alma mater, New England University, for the long-term effects of head trauma she suffered as a soccer-playing student. And Fina wants to know why, in spite of the lawsuit, Liz had still been getting fundraising letters from Pamela Fordyce, an NEU development officer, and why Pamela is so uncomfortable in an interview. Fina also catches Liz's former coach, Kevin Lafferty, who's a volunteer booster-club president for NEU, in a couple of lies. Fina's not above telling whoppers herself, even though she rationalizes she's fibbing for a good cause, especially after Liz dies and the case turns from assault to murder. Fina's under orders to steer the NEU lawsuit into the Ludlow family shop, one of the leading personal-injury law firms in the country, but she hopes it will bring relief to Liz's survivors. Although she's a law school dropout herself, Fina uses her energy and determination to follow every lead (including some that lead to a couple of unrelated cases), with numerous pit stops for fast food and an occasional tumble with her guy pals. She soon has all too many clues, and the definite idea-thanks to a threatening note and a bomb that sets her borrowed car on fire-that someone wants her to back off. But whoever hopes to discourage her doesn't know how relentless Fina can be and how hard she'll work to find the killer. Fina's third adventure follows the pattern of the first two: fashion, fat, and sugar. But Thoft (Identity, 2014, etc.) is an entertaining storyteller, and her quirky protagonist's the equal of any male gumshoe.

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June 1, 2015
Liz Barone dies after a brutal attack rendered her comatose, and her mother turns to Boston PI Fina Ludlow (Identity, 2014) for another set of eyes on the case. Bobbi Barone wonders if the attack is related to Liz's lawsuit against New England University, in which Liz claimed that years playing college soccer left her with mild cognitive impairment. Even cynical Fina doubts the university resorted to squelching lawsuits with murder, but Liz's life as a suburban mom and laboratory administrator isn't brimming with evident leads. So, Fina relies on her proven investigative technique of poking at everyone in the victim's life until someone cracks, and she's quickly rewarded with a near-death experience delivered via car bomb. Now, Fina just has to determine if her widespread annoyance campaign rattled Liz's husband, boss, former coach, the team doctor, or the university's lead booster. In her third outing, Fina's firecracker bravado evolves into true confidence, and she attacks her roles as investigator and heavy within her dysfunctional family with delightfully readable vigor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)