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Damaging Evidence
by Al Macy
2020 / 323 pls
read by Nick Sullivan: 8h 19m
rating: A+ / legal crime
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Oh yay! I’ve now finished another series this month! There were the Anne Reeve books prior to Al Macy. Both are *almost* cozy crime novels – they’re light-is and the focus is on the relationships as well as the crime solving. It’s not gritty in the 2020 sense of the term, but there are some very difficult life circumstances involved.
The setting is still Humboldt County in California, home to a LOT of marijuana growing and sales and some other counter-culture goings on. Every once in awhile this adds some interest, but is never a big point.
This time we have Garrett Goodlove the first person attorney, along with Jen his new wife and Nicole his daughter – all three are lawyers in Garrett’s firm. And there’s Carley his no-nonsense deaf sister and Luella, their excellent although older, investigator. These characters made their first appearances in the prior novels.
The main plot thread concerns the prosecution of a local doctor who is doing entirely too many surgeries on his own and random heart patients. One of them was seriously damaged during what she says was unnecessary bypass surgery. Then a witness shows up who knows something, but won’t tell for fear he’ll go to jail on an unrelated charge of his own.
It’s probably wise to read the books in order. I’m totally looking forward to another one.