Clean Cut — Lynda La Plante

Dedicated, intuitive, and utterly obsessive, DCI James Langton is ruthless in his pursuit of a gang of illegal immigrants, the murderers of a young prostitute. When one of them nearly kills him, Anna Travis nurses his wounds and bears the brunt of his frustrations, putting her own life and career on hold. But then one of Anna's own cases -- the seemingly motiveless murder of a quiet, studious woman -- turns out to be linked with Langton's, and Anna becomes the gang's next target. As USA Today wrote of La Plante's Above Suspicion, "There is no sugarcoating on this 100-proof police procedural."