All Day and A Night - Alafair Burke

I tell you, Alafair Burke just gets better and better with every book. (And she was pretty darn good to start with!)

Her latest release is All Day and A Night, the fifth book in her Detective Ellie Hatcher series.

A psychotherapist is murdered in her office. The murder includes unusual elements that echo astring of murders committed almost twenty years - details never revealed to the public. Anthony Amaro was convicted for the murder of those five women and sentenced to life without parole aka all day and a night. Could he be innocent, as he has proclaimed from day one? An ambitious lawyer named Nancy Grace and Carrie, a woman with ties to one of the victims, think he might be. The District Attorney also thinks his case deserves another look. Hatcher and her partner Rogan are assigned to take a 'fresh look.' Is that fresh look going to be hampered by the fact that Ellie is in a relationship with the DA?

I really enjoy Ellie as a character. She's tough, outspoken and driven. I enjoy following the evolution of a character and Burke lets Ellie make some personal decisions in this latest novel. Rogan is a favourite as well - although we are aware of his personal life, it's not to the same degree as the lead role. I would like to see and know more about him.

The antagonists in this book are strongly drawn. Nancy Grace is very easy to dislike, as is Amara. Carrie keeps us guessing as she provides a back and forth perspective on Amara's guilt or innocence.

Burke has created a great set of recurring characters, but the real strength in All Day and A Night was the plotting.  The police work is logical and straight forward, allowing the reader to piece together the clues along with Rogan and Hatcher. I had my suspicions about three quarters of the way through, but Burke threw in enough twists and turns to keep things really interesting. Burke's law background gives her legal and criminal situations added dimension and the ring of truth.

All Day and A Night was another excellent read from Burke - and is definitely recommended. Read an excerpt of All Day and A Night.

Readers new to Alafair Burke would be able to easily read and enjoy this latest novel without having read previous books in the series - although I encourage you to pick up Burke's back list.

"Alafair Burke is the bestselling author of nine previous novels, including the stand-alones Long Gone and If You Were Here, as well as the Ellie Hatcher series: Dead Connection, Angel's Tip, 212, and Never Tell. A former prosecutor, she now teaches criminal law and lives in Manhattan." You can find Alafair Burke on Facebook and on Twitter.

See what others on the TLC book tour thought. Full schedule can be found here.