Review: Guilt by Degrees (Rachel Knight #2) by Marcia Clark

Print Length: 449 pages

Publisher:  Mulholland Books (April 30, 2013)

From Goodreads.com:  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 suspectless 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.

Harrowing, smart, and riotously entertaining, GUILT BY DEGREES is a thrilling ride through the world of LA courts with the unforgettable Rachel Knight.

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 My Rating: 2 stars out of 5

My Review: This author came highly recommended, so I jumped on the chance to read and review her entire collection of Rachel Knight stories. I began with this one, not realizing at the time that this novel is actually book two of the series. However, that wasn't a problem at all. While there was some mention of characters and plot details from book one that were "spoilers" for that book, it wasn't crucial to the plot of this one to have read them in order. 

I felt that the character of Rachel was well-developed enough to make her part in the story interesting (a good thing as she is the main character), however while the rest of the cast was diverse, I came away still feeling like I didn't know who they were. I couldn't tell you (with the exception of Rachel) who the rest were deep down, or what they did, or why they reacted the way they did to certain situations. 

On the flip side, there was a little too much attention paid to the main characters going out to dinner, and drinking their "favorite" Ketel One martinis. I felt that rather than build up the plot, or at least keep it moving, these sections of the story actually took away from what was going on and made the book drag on longer than it needed to. In fact, this entire book seemed to drag on, with short spans of actual action happening. 

My biggest problem with this novel (and also what I would consider to be the biggest downfall) is that one of the main conflicts in this novel is not resolved by the end of the novel. While I hope this means that it will be resolved finally in the next book, as the first book by an author that I have ever read, it does not leave me with high hopes for her other novels. 

I did sign up to read the rest of the Rachel Knight novels, and I plan to finish them, I just hope they not only redeem this author, but also answer questions that this novel left hanging.


DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own. 

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Guilt by Degrees is available from Amazon.com