The Dark of Day

May 5, 2008
This tantalizing novel of suspense from bestseller Parker (The Perfect Fake
), the first in a new series, introduces 37-year-old C.J. Dunn (formerly Charlotte Josephine Bryan), a flashy Miami criminal attorney. To get a better chance at hosting a new CNN show, Rich, Famous, and Deadly
, C.J. accepts a client with celebrity connections, Rick Slater. Rick, chauffeur to a prominent Republican congressman, is a suspect in the disappearance and later murder of a young model, Alana Martin, last seen at a party in Miami Beach. Kylie Willis, a 17-year-old runaway who attended the party with Alana, may be able to help clear Rick, whose virility and no-nonsense attitude attracts C.J. To crack the case, C.J., who’s also a recovering alcoholic and recent widow, must face her troubled past. This thriller zings with rich subtext regarding dirty politics and the exploitation of young women “servicing” power players. 5-city author tour.

June 1, 2008
Miamis hard-partying culture is the backdrop for Parkers latest, a stand-alone featuring CJ Dunn, defense lawyer to the rich and famous. CJ knows aa lotabout partying, having done her sharewith boyfriend Billy Medina, who throws some of theclassiest galas in town. When pretty Alana Martin disappears from one of them, Rick Slater, bodyguard-driver of a localpolitician, is tagged as the last to see her, and CJ, with a possible CNN gig to entice her, agrees to manage the fallout. Slaterclaims he is innocent, but as curious CJ investigates, she finds herself not onlybecoming more skeptical ofher client but also recalling her own youthful mistakes. Parkers earliernovels, especially her Gail Connor series, have earned kudos, but this one is less successful.The multiplestory threadsmostly come together by the close, but not withoutsomestretching, andthe prose this time sometimes verges close to clich'.That said, Parker has her fans, and female lawyers are a hot commodity in the genre at the moment.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)