The White Crow by Michael Robotham

 

Philomena McCarthy is a part of the Metropolitan Police and has a new marriage with Henry, a city firefighter.  Being a policewoman is not something Philomena had ever thought she would be.  Her father is head of an organized crime group and the McCarthy Brothers are known widely as criminals.   But she was estranged from her family when she took the job and only recently has become reconciled to them.

On patrol one night, she finds a young girl, dressed in pajamas, on the street in the middle of the night.  The girl tells Philomena that she can't wake up her mother and sure enough, when Philomena checks, her mother is dead, tied to a kitchen chair and battered.  Her father, manager of a high end jewelry store, has been taken to the store by the gang that broke into their house and forced to open the safe there.

Philomena would do anything to be on the task force solving the crime, but a higher up supervisor is determined that he can use this crime to bring down her father's organization.  Philomena is scrutinized and suspended because of her family ties.  But she can't stop investigating the crime.  Can she solve it?

Michael Robotham is an Australian author.  He works mainly in the thriller/detective genre although he was also a ghostwriter for a while on famous people's autobiographies.  I've been a fan for years and this one didn't disappoint.  I loved Philomena's character and especially her husband Henry.  Her father is what he is, a man who has done terrible things but who always and forever puts family first.  There are lots of twists and turns in this novel and it is the second Philomena novel, the first being before she is married.  I immediately started that one when I realized I had missed it.  This series is a big hit for me and I can only hope that Robotham will give readers another chance to follow Philomena in her career.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.