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Judgement and justice turn the heart of New Orleans police detective Albert Harris inside out in Scarlet Crosses, a timely story of family, hidden identities, rejection, bullying—and poetic justice. Layered within the Crescent City's all-night bars, iconic cathedrals, cemeteries, and pastoral lands rising from the Mississippi valley are riveting mysteries of identity and consequences of actions—both innocent and criminal—ripped from today's headlines. For Harris, "just another case" in a long career of investigations will become a transformative journey, heartbreaking and inspiring, proving that the truth lies within.
Harris is a seasoned detective and a man of principle. Every dogma he has held clashes against the masks all around him on the streets of New Orleans. To him, there's no room in Heaven for the L, the G, the B, and the T. His Christian ideals have crashed against his own walls and separated him from his grandson Kyle, whose feminine behaviors Harris can no longer discipline away. Harris' probing has stopped, frozen in the fear of what he may discover.
Still mourning the senseless death of his daughter and angered by the travesty of justice that led to her killer's acquittal, Harris blames the system, he blames attorneys, but mostly-he blames himself. When the city's top criminal defense attorney, Megan Callahan-a woman Harris detests-becomes a victim herself, he is tasked with the investigation. The truth he seeks, and the truth that seeks him, is buried deep within her heart. With Megan trapped in a whirlpool of fear, compassion trumps bitterness as Harris becomes a lifeline of hope.
The lines between personal and professional lives blur for Harris and Megan as they navigate uncharted waters of the flip side of The Big Easy. Harris will become tangled in the cloaked, hide-and-seek lives of some in the LGBT community. The investigation becomes a harrowing journey for all. Demons long thought vanquished will reappear, and hidden fears will be uncovered. Megan ultimately holds the key to untangle the twisted lines of the investigation and to the biggest case of Harris' life-his own conflicted heart.
Plot/Idea: 8 out of 10
Originality: 7 out of 10
Prose: 8 out of 10
Character/Execution: 8 out of 10
Overall: 7.75 out of 10
Assessment:
New Orleans defense attorney Megan Callahan enjoys the success of achieving an acquittal for a prominent client. But things soon take a dark turn when she is raped. Steele ratchets up the suspense considerably when Detective Harris seeks to find the culprit -- all while faced with protecting his grandson Kyle, who has been bullied at school. The intrigue continues unabated as the depths of the characters are reveled in this engaging read.
Date Submitted: September 29, 2016