In Susan Dunlap's Karma, published in 1981, Officer Jill Smith is a recently divorced member of the Berkeley, California, police force attending a ceremony conducted by the new guru in town, when he is stabbed to death in full view of the audience. Since the area is part of her beat, Smith goes to work on the case immediately, trying to sort out the motives of the various characters around the dead monk. As the case progresses, she begins to wonder if anyone is really what they seem to be. Having lived in the Bay Area in the 1980's myself, I enjoyed the portrait of that diverse area. Grade: B.
Officer Jill Smith's ex-husband Nat calls and asks As A Favor that Jill check on one of his co-workers, Anne Spaulding, who has not come to work at the Berkeley Welfare Office. When Jill goes to Anne's apartment, she finds signs of a struggle, overturned furniture, blood on the walls and floor, and the missing woman's purse and drivers license. Blood stained clothing has been turned in at the police station, suggesting that a body has been dumped into San Francisco Bay. As Jill investigates, however, an unflattering portrait of Anne Spaulding begins to emerge, as does a very fresh corpse, and Jill begins to wonder exactly how Nat may be involved. These books tend to be police procedurals, although I have a lot of trouble believing that proper procedure was followed toward the end of the book when Jill goes to arrest the suspect without waiting for backup. Still, I'd give it a solid Grade: B.
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