L.A. Heat: A Novel
This was a refreshing change from typical detective mysteries in that there was actual detecting. The officers were smart and asked good questions and interviewed the right witnesses. There were real consequences for inappropriate actions. But like regular police work, sometimes it was a little dull. I really liked the main detective. He was really a great guy and his motivations were clear cut and made sense. I didn't like Chris at all at first but he grew on me. He changed quite a bit but there wasn't enough reason for him to do so. I mean, it wasn't really talked about. I also wasn't quite clear why Chris liked David at first. He barely knew the man and it was quite clear he was not particularly good-looking. But as the story progressed it made sense, just not as early as he began the attraction. But Chris turned out to be a lot less shallow then he was initial portrayed. Their relationship was sweet and sex was even beautiful.
I think the secondary characters were good, too, although a couple of the jerks were a little too black and white. Martinez was believable and I liked how he was at the end. It was believable to me.
The mystery was very good. I didn't figure it out until about 70-75% of the way in. But then I can be dense about this kind thing because I try not to figure it out. The ending, the big action finale was excellent, lots of peril and pending death.
There were a couple of issues that left me thinking that this wasn't a five star book and yet I can't remember them anymore. So 4.5 rounded up to 5 because of my bad memory.