The Front

When Patricia Cornwell introduced the quicksilver, cut-to-the-bone style and extraordinary cast of characters of At Risk, the result was electrifying:"At Risk is Cornwell's finest novel. It works in every way possible—fascinating characters, solid plot, great pacing and expertly crafted prose" (St. Louis Post-Dispatch); "Absolutely the best. Here's hoping we'll see more of Win, onique, Nana and Sykes in the coming years. They are the best characters to emerge from Cornwell's creative pen since . . . well, Kay Scarpetta" (The Denver Post). At Risk featured Massachusetts state investigator Win Garano, a shrewd man of mixed-race background and a notinconsiderable chip on his shoulder; District Attorney Monique Lamont, a hard-charging woman with powerful ambitions and a troubling willingness to cut corners; and Garano's grandmother, who has certain unpredictable talents that you ignore at your peril. And in The Front, peril is what comes to them all. D.A. Lamont has a special job for Garano. As part of a new public relations campaign about the dangers of declining neighborhoods, she's sending him to Watertown to "come up with a drama," and she thinks she knows just the case that will serve.