Overview: Rachel Knight is a Los Angeles County prosecutor in the Special Trials Unit. As such, she prosecutes (and apparently investigates...) high-profile cases in LA. Along with her BFFs LAPD Detective Bailey Keller and prosecutor Toni La Collier, Rachel navigates life, work, and romance as a highly visible local figure with her own childhood baggage and a love for vodka martinis, expensive LA restaurants, and sarcasm. GoodReads synopses (slightly edited by me for length) for each book:
Guilt by Association: When her colleague, Jake, is found dead at a grisly crime scene, Rachel Knight is shaken to the core. She must take over his toughest case: the assault of a young woman from a prominent family. But she can't stop herself from digging deeper into Jake's death, a decision that exposes a world of power and violence and will have her risking her reputation--and her life--to find the truth.
Guilt by Degrees: Someone has been watching D.A. Rachel Knight--someone who's Rachel's equal in brains, but with more malicious intentions. It began when a near-impossible case fell into Rachel's lap, the suspect-less homicide of a homeless man. In the face of courthouse backbiting and a gauzy web of clues, Rachel is determined to deliver justice. She's got back-up: tough-as-nails Detective Bailey Keller. As Rachel and Bailey stir things up, they're shocked to uncover a connection with the vicious murder of an LAPD cop a year earlier. Something tells Rachel someone knows the truth, someone who'd kill to keep it secret.
Killer Ambition: When the daughter of a billionaire Hollywood director is found murdered after what appears to be a kidnapping gone wrong, Rachel Knight and Detective Bailey Keller find themselves at the epicenter of a combustible and high-profile court case. Then a prime suspect is revealed to be one of Hollywood's most popular and powerful talent managers--and best friend to the victim's father. With the director vouching for the manager's innocence, the Hollywood media machine commences an all-out war designed to discredit both Rachel and her case.
The Competition: A Columbine-style shooting at a high school in the San Fernando Valley has left a community shaken to its core. Two students are identified as the killers. Both are dead, believed to have committed a mutual suicide. In the aftermath of the shooting, Rachel Knight teams up with her best friend, detective Bailey Keller. As Rachel and Bailey interview students at the high school, they realize that the facts don't add up. Could it be that the students suspected of being the shooters are actually victims? And if so, does that mean that the real killers are still on the loose?
My Thoughts: I absolutely love the character of Rachel Knight-- she's tough, sarcastic, quick-witted, and smart. Plus, she hates mornings as much as I do. These stories are all fantastic with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, but not so much to give you whiplash. Marcia Clark definitely has a great storytelling talent, which has now served her well in two careers. The Competition is my least favorite of the four. It annoyed me slightly how a prosecutor was awfully involved in the investigation of a school shooting. There were almost no courtroom scenes. But it was otherwise a fascinating whodunnit thriller. The first three were all five star books to me. I gave the last one only three, which upon reconsideration might be a bit harsh. Perhaps it's closer to a 4. But definitely all are entertaining and worthy of reading!
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