Heath draws effectively on his experience as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney to present an interesting ethical dilemma for the heroine of his debut. Rian Coulter, who has found her calling as a public defender in Pensacola, Fla., has been struggling to remain engaged in her job, amid budget cuts that have forced her to cover routine cases. That situation changes when a serial killer begins sexually assaulting and strangling women in the area. His MO, which includes hog-tying his victims, matches a series of eight previous killings in Birmingham, Ala., committed more than seven years earlier, at a time when Rian worked in private practice in that city. Rian suspects that one of her clients is the killer, but should she violate client confidentiality in the hope of preventing more murders? As the attorney gradually puts the pieces of the mystery together, Heath heightens the suspense with sections from the killer’s perspective. (BookLife)