Bound by Blood

Jack Brenner, a New Orleans homicide detective, hopes to repair his faltering marriage while his daughters are away at summer camp. Then he receives word that Emmet Lloyd Graves, a man on death row, has some information about his cousin's unsolved murder. Like a brother to jack during his troubled childhood, David was one of two civil rights workers killed in the summer of 1972.Before he can figure out whether Graves is conning him, Jack is put on another murder case; the victim, Steven Bowen, broke David's high school record in the mile before being shot to death at a pay phone. With the encouragement of his partner, Keisha Lundy, Jack juggles the Bowen with his own secret investigation of Grave's claim. Willow Ashe, a television reporter and old flame, complicates, matters by breaking the story on national news. Jack is upset at first, but the publicity gets him what he wants, a chance to solve his cousin's murder.Delivering a gripping mystery with a fine balance of humour, violence, and sorrow, Rick Nelson is a welcome new voice in crime fiction.