The Competition by Marcia Clark

The Competition is part of the Rachel Knight series penned by Marcia Clark.  This is the first book I have read by this author but as I've said about some authors many times before, it will not be my last.

The story is all about young men who appear to be enthralled with the horrendous crimes perpetrated in the Columbine massacre.  Rachel Knight, LA special Trials prosecutor and her best friend LAPD detective, Bailey Keller join forces to find out who the copycats are who staged a shooting at a high school in the San Fernando Valley.

The interesting aspect of this novel is that it realistically follows the twists and turns involved in solving a major crime.  So often (and thankfully) our major exposure to crime solving is limited to an hour-long segment of Law and Order or Cold Case. We may assume that solving a case of any proportion is a slam-dunk.  Much like redoing your entire kitchen over the course of several days.  This author shows the reader a well-developed plot that is not filled with easy answers.  One may come away from this story feeling a new appreciation of detectives and other law enforcement people who work hard trying to solve crimes.

Other titles by this author include, Guilt by Association, Guilt by Degrees and Killer Ambition. If they are as well written as this one, you'll more than likely want to read them as well.

Ladybookbug!