Cover-Up [Hardcover]

If you watch any of the versions of Law and Order that are continually running on one cable channel or another, the local police are quickly pulled into the case following an accidental discovery of a crime. The police lead the way for 20-30 minutes and then the prosecutors start to take over. By the end, we only see cameos of the police as they make brief testimonies and look for last minute evidence. Occasionally, a high-profile crime involves the federal authorities who do their best to oust the local prosecutors and cops. The federal authorities seem to have their own agendas.

Cover-Up is quite a change from that tried-and-true formula. As the story opens, federal prosecutor Melanie Vargas has taking her FBI boyfriend, Dan O'Reilly, out for dinner to celebrate his birthday. Before the evening ends, he's summoned to the crime scene and invites Melanie along. When the local prosecutor can't take the violence at the horrific scene, Melanie finds herself the woman on the stop and is soon handling the press. But the crime scene makes no sense. Why would top investigative reporter, Suzanne Shepard, be out in a part of Central Park known for gay rendezvous in a rainstorm? What's the reason for the extreme violence perpetrated against her? Someone has a grudge, but that's true of everyone she's ever reported on.

The case soon takes on political overtones when the father of one of Melanie's fellow prosecutors is linked to Shepard by a threatening package. Melanie's boss is about to get married and can't be bothered to run proper interference and Melanie is accused of running a cover-up.

In the middle of all this, Melanie acquires a stalker who likes to send threatening e-mails.

At the same time, Melanie finds her relationship with Dan up in the air when Dan's ex-father-in-law dies. The personal dimension is further developed as Melanie struggles with baby sitters and a cheating ex-husband who doesn't take his paternal responsibilities very seriously.

As the case evolves, more and more suspects appear. Each has a decidedly unpleasant aspect. Despite this, the judges aren't at all sympathetic and make progress more difficult than it needs to be.

The suspense, danger, and pace of the story build nicely over the course of the book. The ending will surprise you and provide an appropriate coda for a story of intense hate and sadism.

Ms. Martinez has a nice ability to capture the common elements of a day, as well as tell her gripping tale. That contrast makes her story telling seem more real, which makes the tension more powerful. You'll also find yourself being interested in the characters, even the ones that aren't developed very much. It's a rare skill to be able to make even incidental characters seem interesting.

Ms. Martinez could do a little more to steer the reader into feeling the pulse behind the story by what she has her narrator think about. Once Ms. Martinez develops that ability, there's no stopping this excellent author. With that skill, she won't have to rely quite so much on shock tactics to get your attention.

If you find the gruesome a little hard to take, you'll find this book to be over the top. But compared to much crime literature, I found the violence level to be acceptable.

I've read her first two books and like the smart mom lawyer angle, like the personal life angst, like the plots. But this novel in particular had cliche-ish prose and dialog. I tried to forgive the prose/dialog as I read along and agreed with the sentiment trying to be expressed, but made the whole reading experience feel cheap.

Michele Martinez initiates a very subtle change of direction in COVER-UP, her third Melanie Vargas novel. MOST WANTED and THE FINISHING SCHOOL, the first two books in the series, introduced not only Vargas but also a plethora of secondary characters that included several members of Vargas's personal family and circle of co-workers. In COVER-UP, Martinez moves a majority of the characters (Vargas's mother, sister and boss, among others) to the side --- if not off the board entirely --- giving a freshly-divorced Vargas and her blossoming relationship with Dan O'Reilly the opportunity to sparkle.

COVER-UP begins with Assistant U.S. District Attorney Vargas being pulled reluctantly into the lead of the investigation of the savage murder of Suzanne Shepard, a television reporter who has a high Q rating with the viewing public but receives low marks from her prospective targets. Vargas has no shortage of suspects, who range from a celebrity personal trainer to a Park Avenue nip/tuck surgeon to --- most significantly of all --- Clyde Williams, a New York City councilman with designs on the mayor chair who also happens to be the father of one of Vargas's best friends in the office. When Vargas does not immediately bring charges against Williams, Shepard's network screams cover-up, which does not help Vargas's investigation.

Meanwhile, FBI Agent O'Reilly is his usual competent self --- both on the job and between the sheets (functions that, as readers shall see, he sometimes performs simultaneously), though his increasingly frequent nighttime disappearances are giving Vargas pause. To make matters worse, it appears that the killer is now tracking Vargas to the extent that he knows her every move despite her own best efforts.

Suspects are ruled in and then out, making COVER-UP a classic and suspenseful whodunit, even as Vargas races to a fateful and climactic apprehension in a noisy and dangerous Times Square video arcade. There, Vargas engages in the ultimate role-playing game, as she matches wits with a brilliant and deranged killer while time runs out for one of them.

This is by far the best in an already top-notch series whose expectations have been exceeded since the publication of MOST WANTED. Martinez continues to fine-tune her character both personally and professionally, walking a fine line between the familiar and the unexpected. COVER-UP is one more reason to add, and keep, Martinez on your must-read list.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub