Anyone who has ever read one of my blog posts will know that I am not a huge fan of the crime/mystery/police procedural genre. But given that a significant portion of my time is spent putting together book bundles* for people who have requested books in that classification, I thought it prudent to throw myself in and see what happens.

Based on a recommendation from a fellow librarian, I started with Marcia Clark’s Guilt By Association, the first in her Rachel Knight series. Knight is a quirky, self-deprecating Deputy District Attorney with the Los Angeles Special Trials unit and as such, is part of the investigative team on significant crimes. One of her best friends is Bailey Keller, lead Homicide Detective with the LAPD. Together the two of them work to solve major crimes and bring the most dangerous criminals to justice.

Observing the criminal investigation process through the eyes of the prosecution gives an interesting perspective as to the challenges the legal system faces when it comes to getting guilty verdicts in the courts. Marcia Clark has had first hand experience in this field as she was in private practice and then worked as a public defender for the city of Los Angeles before becoming a prosecutor in 1981. She became famous during her time as lead prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson case.

The 4 book series starts with Guilt by Association, written in 2011, and ends with The Competition, published in 2014. I like the fact that it is a limited series and doesn’t go on for years and years. While it isn’t necessary to start with the first book (as each story centres on stand-alone cases) there is a continuity throughout the series that is nice to be part of as the lives of the protagonists unfurl. The middle two books are Guilt By Degrees and Killer Ambition.

Clark’s books are easy to read with short chapters and plenty of quippy dialogue. While on a couple of occasions I may have figured out who ‘the bad guy’ was before the Knight/Keller team did, it was fun to observe how they came to the same conclusion.

— Nancy C.

*Surprise Me! Bundles for Adults are special orders of hand-selected books or DVDs. One bundle of books or DVDs has up to 5 specially selected titles for every taste. You can even select themed bundles. We also have WPL Kids Express book bundles. Click here to learn more about our Book Bundles and to place your order!