Deep Zero (Dana Hargrove Legal Mysteries, Book 4) by V.S. Kemanis
Release date: January 26, 2018
Subgenre: Legal thriller
About Deep Zero:
It's one a.m. Do you know
where your teenagers are? Prosecutor Dana Hargrove makes it a point to
know. But one night, in the dead of winter, she should have known more.
In February 2009, Dana is the newly-elected district attorney of a suburban county north of Manhattan, where she lives with her husband, attorney Evan Goodhue, and their two teenage children. The Great Recession has seen a rise in substance abuse and domestic violence. It's also the era of burgeoning social media, an intoxicating lure for wayward and disaffected teens who find new methods of victimization: a game to some, with no thought of the consequences.
During an arctic cold snap, the body of a high school student is discovered, lodged in the ice floes of the Hudson River. People are crying for justice, but there doesn't seem to be a law that fits. Days later, in one hellish night, Dana's children are sucked into a criminal investigation against several of their classmates, making her a convenient target for community outrage.
In Deep Zero, the fourth standalone legal mystery featuring the dynamic prosecutor, Dana walks the tightrope like never before in her tricky balance between professional ethics and family loyalties.
Excerpt:
Monday, February 9, 2009, 3:05 a.m.
COLD, DEEP TO the bone. Numbing, painless. With
all physical sensation gone, the rest of it is now almost a memory, not even
that. The remaining bits float away into the vast, sucking expanse of black sky
over the river. Naomi lets them go.
There was pain as recently as an hour ago.
In the warmth of her bedroom, she convulsed on the cloudy surface of her down
comforter, the fabric wet with tears. The lights were off, but her room wasn’t
entirely dark. The glow of the laptop pulsed and electrified the air. Permanent. Declaring a life of its own.
Her
fingers moved on the keyboard. “Surprise. Yes, I can. See if I won’t.”
The words
seemed to belong inside that little box at the top of her page where they would
remain forever.
She sat
back and read the post again, fully satisfied with it. Nothing more, nothing
less. She made the setting “public.” They would know. Not just the two girls
but everyone, really, would know it was her response, and they would understand
where to place the blame.
Naomi’s finger hovered. The intended
recipients and their “friends” were probably asleep right now, but even if they
saw it tonight, what could they do? Something, maybe, but there was absolutely
nothing they would do.
With a tap on the pad, she made it
permanent and found her peace of mind. It was a small satisfaction, knowing she
had set things straight.
Finally, it was time to press the power
button. She shut the machine down, killing this useless virtual life.
Almost completely dark now. All around, the
house was still.
When her eyes adjusted, she rose from the
bed. Moving automatically, without hesitation, she maneuvered around the
furniture. She’d spent her entire seventeen years in this room. Her sixth sense
avoided the sharp edges and tripping hazards and took the exact number of steps
needed to reach the door.
In the hallway, and again downstairs, she
stopped to listen. No one stirred. She found the keys where they were always
kept, in a dish on a small table near the door to the garage. She wouldn’t be
asking permission this time. It’s her mother’s car she usually borrows, an
aging Honda Civic.
The noise from the garage door opener might
awaken them, so she disengages the chain and pulls the door up by hand.
Her mind controls the body without thought.
She gets into the car and starts it up.
Twenty minutes pass, a blank space that’s
lost to her. She was there, now she’s here.
The Civic is tucked into a dark, ill-used
corner of the large parking lot at Bear Mountain Park, backed into a tall mound
of snow plowed up from the last storm.
A ten-minute walk in the biting cold, but
she doesn’t notice. She’s already numb.
Naomi blinks and stands on the bridge,
midspan.
The night is overcast, no moon or stars,
her body masked in black to match it. A single car passes without stopping.
Then no one.
Numbing,
painless. All physical sensation gone.
The
guardrail is high, coming up past her abdomen.
She should just…
She couldn’t even…
LOL!
Oh, yes, I can. Naomi pulls herself up with a strength she
rarely uses. Taking a moment to balance on the night, she lets the icy wind
rock her. It pushes, she sways, the river beckons.
The next
step is easy. She takes it.
Amazon | NetGalley | Goodreads
About the Dana Hargrove Legal Mysteries:
- Short story: Simple Case (Apple iTunes)
- Book 1: Thursday's List (Amazon | B&N | Apple iTunes)
- Book 2: Homicide Chart (Amazon | B&N | Apple iTunes)
- Book 3: Forsaken Oath (Amazon | B&N | Apple iTunes)
- Book 4: Deep Zero (Amazon)
About V.S. Kemanis:
Short fiction by Ms. Kemanis has been widely published in literary journals and magazines, including Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, The Crooked Road Volume 3 anthology, The William & Mary Review, and Thema, among others. Her stories are currently available in four award-winning collections. She is the author of the Dana Hargrove legal mystery novels, which draw on her personal experience juggling family life with a high-powered professional career in criminal law. Ms. Kemanis is a member of the Mystery Writers of America.
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