Dark Lady

Dark Lady is complex and the characters a touch over described for me. This is one Richard North Patterson novel I did not finish.

Stella Marz is an Assistant County Prosecutor, a lawyer is murdered, and Stella is asked to help the investigation due to the strange nature of the murder matching Stella's special interests and experience. Think of the Special Victims Unit shown in one television show. Now think of an adult version. Look at it from the view point of the prosecutor, not the detectives. This makes for an interesting story.

Stella has a history. There are long detailed descriptions of Stella's background and the various characters dragging out the start of the story. The victim is Stella's ex lover and the story bogs down further in describing her history. I made a few attempts to get through the flashbacks and could manage only a page or two at a time. Some of the introductions and flashbacks could be left for later after the story becomes dramatic.

I did not like the victim. Usually murder mysteries give you a reason to want the murder solved, the victim is interesting, the investigator is interesting, or the mystery is an interesting puzzle you want solved. After several chapters, I was not interested in any of the characters or solving the mystery.