Crack Down — Val McDermid

Kate Brannigan has seen her share of foul play on the job, even though her Manchester investigation firm handles mostly white collar crime. But when she and her boyfriend Richard, a rock music critic, go undercover to get the goods on a car dealership fraud, she isn't prepared for the volcano of trouble that erupts, sending Richard to jail.

Kate is good at what she does -- very good. But she's only got three days to prove that Richard is an innocent victim, caught in the driver's seat of a dangerous car theft ring that takes no prisoners. Three days is not a lot of time to rescue her boyfriend and take down a savage hotshot whose calling card is a bullet to the brain. Luckily Kate knows exactly what she's doing -- at least she hopes she does.