Non-stop action, realistic details make 'What Harms You' a compelling read | Book Talk
“What Harms You” is second in an excellent series about the fictional Locard Institute for forensic research in Washington, D.C. by Lisa Black, a former forensic scientist at the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office.
Ellie Carr, a Cleveland native and a former FBI agent, has just been hired at the Institute, where she will teach classes, research forensic techniques and investigate crimes. She’s replacing a woman named Barbara Wright, and the rest of the staff is delighted to see her go and take her “fish eye of death” with her. They probably didn’t mean for her to be murdered.
Ellie hasn’t even finished teaching her first class in collecting DNA evidence before finding Barbara’s body lying in a puddle of hydrochloric acid in a storage closet. She alerts the Institute’s assistant director, Rachael Davies, who calls the authorities. They speculate that Barbara may have dropped a jar and been overcome by fumes before she could get out of the closet, but Rachael is dubious.
Rachael begins checking some of the evidence, but she can’t get very far because another death occurs: The body of a young Saudi woman, a student at the Institute, is found out in the woods at the site where a goat has been buried to give the classes exercises in crime scene processing.
Every one of the attendees is already a trained crime investigator, which means they could work together to find Farida’s killer – except they’re all automatically suspects, as are all the staff members. The frustrated local sheriff says, “We’re few hundred feet from the best forensic personnel in the country, and we can’t use a one of you.”
In the previous book, “Red Flags,” Ellie and Rachael had a grudging relationship because of their jurisdiction conflict; here, they go about their work with the detachment of their profession; it’s expected for them to cooperate with the FBI, but they don’t necessarily tell all they know.
Barbara Wright had been working on an innovative method of tracking criminals, but a colleague has accused her of stealing his research. Did he kill her in revenge? Farida had been accompanied by two cousins serving as her bodyguards. Had they been assigned to kill her?
The action is non-stop and the descriptions of crime scene analysis are fascinating and gruesome. With the authentic details and Ellie and Rachael working together, this could be only the beginning of a welcome series.
“What Harms You” (336 pages, hardcover) costs $27 from Kensington. Lisa Black also wrote the Gardiner and Renner series about a Cleveland forensic investigator and a police detective with a secret, and two fine thrillers under the name Elizabeth Becka. She is a latent print examiner and certified crime analyst for the Cape Coral Police Department.
Events
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Beachwood branch, 25501 Shaker Boulevard): Anthony Marra, author of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award-winning “A Constitution of Vital Phenomena,” talks about his historical novel “Mercury Pictures Presents,” about a producer who interacts with key figures in 1940s Hollywood, 1-2 p.m. Monday. Registration includes a free copy of the book; go to cuyahogalibrary.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Parma-Snow branch, 2121 Snow Road): Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray discuss “The First Ladies,” a novel about the friendship between Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune, 7-8 p.m. Monday. The $30 admission includes a copy of the book. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Bay Village branch, 27400 Wolf Road): Andrew Pegman signs “Outdoor Tales of Northeast Ohio,” 7-8 p.m. Monday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library: Erika Sánchez (“I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter”) joins the Online Author Talk Series with “Crying in the Bathroom: A Memoir” in a virtual event at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Register at smfpl.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Independence branch, 6361 Selig Drive): Laura DeMarco talks about her pictorial history “Lost Civil War,” 7-8 p.m. Tuesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Barnes and Noble (7900 Mentor Avenue, Mentor): Cleveland native Genevieve Gornichec talks about “The Weaver and the Witch Queen,” based on Norse mythology, 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library (Coventry branch, 1925 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights): Esther Friedman (“The Gentle Souls Revolution: A Secret Cult, an Open Rebellion, and and Lessons in Protecting and Honoring Your Gentle Soul”) and Gerette Buglion (“An Everyday Cult”) discuss surviving cults, 7-8 p.m. Tuesday.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Mayfield branch, 500 SOM Center Road, Mayfield Village): Vince Guerrieri presents “Weird Moments in Cleveland Sports,” 7-8 p.m. Tuesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Fireside Book Shop (29 North Franklin Street, Chagrin Falls): The 2023 Authors Festival, featuring about 17 authors, is part of the annual Chagrin Falls Sidewalk Sale, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Wadsworth Public Library (123 Broad Street): Dan Muller, author of “Sex, Drugs, Rock and War: The Boomer Generation: 14 Boomer Life Stories That Bring a New Perspective to the Conflict Between Generations,” talks about Boomer values and beliefs, 7-9 p.m. Thursday.
Mac’s Backs (1820 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights): Justin Reynolds, author of the “It’s the End of the World and I’m In My Bathing Suit,” signs “House Party,” a collection of linked short stories he edited and contributed to, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Friday.
Massillon Public Library (208 Lincoln Way East): Canton teacher Mark Perretta, author of “Song of Cigale,” set in France in 1940, talks about writing and researching historical fiction, noon to 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Learned Owl Book Shop (204 North Main Street, Hudson): Mariellen Rich signs “Faith Book of Expressions” and “My Sunshine Space,” 1-3 p.m. Saturday.
Literary Cleveland has announced its annual Inkubator Writing Conference as part of Cleveland Book Week, online Sept. 18-20 and in person Sept. 22-23 at the Cleveland Public Library, featuring workshops, panel discussions, a book fair and authors including Peter Ho Davis, Manuel Iris and Akron native Hazfizah Augustus Geter. The keynote speaker is Elizabeth Acevedo, winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature “The Poet X.” Get the schedule and register at incubator.litcleveland.org.
Email information about books of local interest, and event notices at least two weeks in advance to BeaconBookTalk@gmail.com and bjnews@thebeaconjournal.com. I tweet at @BarbaraMcI.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Forensic thriller 'What Harms You' features non-stop action | Book Talk
