KISSING ARIZONA
by Elizabeth Gunn
Domestic and social upheaval plague Tucson detective Sarah Burke.
Who would want to murder the Coopers? The inoffensive couple has been married for years. They’re partners in a successful home-supply business (two stores and expanding) and solid citizens, according to everyone. But what at first appeared to be a murder-suicide turns out to be a setup. Now it’s up to Sarah Burke, with 13 years on the force (New River Blues, 2009, etc.), to set matters straight, a task that requires her to deal with non-talking siblings Tom and Nicole; super-efficient store manager Phyllis; and the parties identified only as Cheeks and Tasty Toes on Mr. Cooper’s very private computer. Meanwhile, another case surfaces: Whose bones are those embedded in a cement-filled plastic tub on the other side of the tracks? Sarah’s worried when a snitch ties them to stash-house honchos. In addition, she has her own woes at home now that her household’s expanded to include her boyfriend Will, her stroke-victim mom Aggie and her adopted daughter Denny. A parallel storyline concerns the plight of Mexican illegal Vicky Nuñez, whose several border crossings end in her deportation and her desperation to relocate to Tucson.
Solid procedural fare with perhaps a slight overemphasis on Sarah’s domestic arrangements.