"Homicide detective Nikki Trakos has her first high-profile case - the murder of New York City councilman Dino Zaporelli, whose mutilated body is found in a remote area of Brooklyn, far from his usual haunts amid the glitter and glamour of Manhattan." "The pressure to solve the case is intense, and Nikki has only days to prove herself. Zaporelli was prominent. The tabloids are clamoring for information. If Nikki doesn't come up with answers quickly, the police brass will replace her with someone more experienced." "There's trouble at home, too, as Nikki's personal life begins to unravel. She has asked her partner and lover, detective Dave Lawton, for "space" while she ponders the future of their relationship. He wants marriage; she's not so sure. Her ten-year-old niece, Lara, has no doubts. Lawton is the father figure she needs." "Working against an impossible deadline, Nikki talks to Zaporelli's invalid wife, who hated him; the son with whom he fought on the day he died; and the dead man's suspicious young mistress. From a dilapidated off-Broadway theater, to a luxury Manhattan high rise, to a ghetto apartment in East New York, Nikki searches for the truth." "Finely crafted and rich in character, Dead Center winds its way through the city's gritty streets as it moves swiftly to a satisfying finale, proving once again that author Ruby Horansky is an exciting new crime fiction talent in the grand Grafton/Paretsky tradition."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved