FFB - Perfect Cover

It seemed that Perfect Cover, co-authored by Linda Chase and Joyce St George, published in 1994, promised to be the first in a series, but that didn’t happen.

The events in this book are inspired by actual experiences and cases that Joyce St. George encountered during her six years as the first female special investigator for the Special State Prosecutor, an arm of the NY State Attorney General’s office: to investigate and prosecute cases of corruption and brutality within the criminal justice system of New York city. An interesting mix of third and first person narratives is deployed so we can get inside other characters’ heads as well as that of tough sexy half-Puerto Rican Tina Paris.

Tina is trying to nail a nasty piece of work, police officer Calvert, while a nameless psycho picks up young women and plays Russian roulette with a revolver while raping them… Inevitably, a woman is killed.

The in-depth description of Tina’s work undercover, the frustrations of police duty, the prevarications of witnesses frightened for their lives, and the dedication of many NY cops, add to a fast-paced story where many threads come together in a suspense-filled denouement.