Review: A Witness Above

Frank Pavlicek is now a Private Investigator in Charlottesville, Virginia. Thirteen years ago he left the NYPD under suspicion of shooting an unarmed black teenager. He and his then partner, Jake Toronto, saw a gun in the teenager's hand, but none was ever found. Jake now lives in nearby Leonardtown. Both Jake and Frank are now into falconry.

Frank is out hunting with Armistead, his red-tailed hawk, when they discover the body of a teenage boy in the brush. Dewayne Turner turns out to have ties to Frank's teenage daughter, Nicole, over in Leonardtown. She lives with her mother. Frank tries to contact Nicole but is put off until Nicole calls one night letting him know she is in the Leonardtown jail. She was arrested after the Sheriff received an anonymous tip that they would find drugs in Nicole's car. She took off and they ended up in a chase before they caught her. Made it even worse for her. Then they tied her and her father into Dewayne's death. Now Frank needs to find out who really killed Dewayne and whether Nicole is into drugs. His ex-wife Camille isn't much help. Nor is her current boyfriend Kevin Weems.

Commonwealth's attorney Priscilla Thomasen appears to help Frank try to find the truth, but he always knows that she is the one bringing charges against Nicole. He worries what they might find.

New evidence is uncovered in the long ago shooting involving Jake and Frank. The now retired police officer they had gone to assist in New Rochelle thirteen years ago, Officer Cahill "Cat", has also moved back to Leonardtown. He and his wife have a restaurant.

Frank needs to find the killer before more people are killed and his daughter is convicted.

This is the first in a new series. I enjoyed this book and I definitely like Frank and Jake. They are complex but very likeable characters. I especially like the Virginia setting as I that's where I live so I recognize many settings in the book.

Falconry is new to me, but I enjoyed getting to know more about it through this book. I will begin reading the second in this series tonight. Can't wait.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Dawn Dowdle

Book Review: A Witness Above