The Evidence is In: This book is bad
A while ago, I happened to pick up three novels by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg, all featuring probation office Carolyn Sullivan. The first two, Sullivan's Law and Sullivan's Justice were so-so books, neither good nor bad, just passable diversions. Rosenberg breaks that pattern in the third book, Sullivan's Evidence, but not for the better: this book is really bad.

Actually, the novel starts out promisingly enough, leading me to initially believe that this would be the best of the three. When the chief forensics officer for Ventura County is found guilty of tampering with evidence, many of the cases he previously handled are called into question. One man, Carl Holden, is set free from prison. Carolyn knows he is a bad man, however, not merely guilty of the single murder he was originally convicted for, but a likely serial killer. When another dead body is found near Holden's original corpse-dumping site, Carolyn is certain that Holden's the murderer. Hunches, however, are not enough, and the search for evidence will lead in unexpected directions, some of which point to Carolyn's new boyfriend.

Done correctly, this could be an interesting story, but Rosenberg has botched things up this time. First of all, Carolyn, never bright when choosing the men in her life, has now become almost criminally idiotic. In particular, she makes one dumb choice that winds up almost getting her raped and murdered by Holden; even though she escapes that, her decision will also endanger her two children. Even then, given an opportunity to get help, she ignores the chance, further risking her life (and that of a police officer); the fact that she is able to get out of this middle-of-the-book crisis will be more the result of dumb luck than anything else. I suppose if this was a comic novel, such behavior could be acceptable, but Rosenberg seems to treat Carolyn as a heroine.

But among the flaws in this book, Carolyn Sullivan's character problems seem the least significant. What's worse? For starters, the plot goes from merely complex to overly muddled. Much of the story depends on pure coincidence, most significantly with Carolyn's love interest, Marcus Wright: what are the odds that she would have an auto accident and meet a man who would just happen to be involved in the case she is helping investigate? There are plenty of other coincidences that tie together story elements that should be completed separated. Maybe worst of all, the resolution of the story depends on one of the most tired cliches in suspense fiction, which I won't disclose here (but it is such a cliché that you hardly ever see it much nowadays, since most writers realize how stale it is).

Of course, Rosenberg has enough skills to keep the story moving relatively quickly, but there is little to recommend this story. If this were a first-time novel, I might give it a generous two stars, but Rosenberg, a supposed accomplished author with nearly a dozen published books, should be better than this and gets only one star. Either she just mailed this one in or she is just overrated. This wasn't my first Rosenberg book, but it's very likely my last. Even if you're a Rosenberg fan, you should skip this clunker and find a better writer; there are many to choose from, and once you realize there are much better authors, you're unlikely to return.

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