A story of betrayal, treachery, and greed.
Detective Johnson goes against the decision of his partner, his wife, and leaves his dying father’s bedside to risk death for the FBI agent he which he is indebted.
FBI Agent Cheryl Chase in fear of her life feels her cover will be blown as quickly as were her partners, as they secretly work deep undercover in a black ring of assassin cops.
A single phone call sets off a chain of events that catapults Detective Joe Johnson into the most difficult case and life decision of his life.
Will Detective Johnson be able to save FBI Agent Chase, his marriage, his life, and stop the black ring of dirty cops?
Or will he be consumed in Black Rain?
Black Rain opens with a frantic phone call from Chase, an FBI Agent with whom Detective Johnson was tempted into an affair. From Johnson’s FBI liaison, he learns of Chase’s current assignment: the role of paramour to a kingpin who has created a ring of police officers on the take. In spite of, and because of, his past relationship with Chase, Johnson feels drawn to the case–even at the risk of his own relationship with his wife.
Johnson is well drawn–a family man, bound by honor and his spirituality to uphold justice and fight wrongdoings. His relationship with his wife and his children are wholly realistic, and the humor and affection that binds them together creates a suitable amount of tension when it comes to Johnson putting his life on the line for another woman. Alexandria has a thoroughly engaging writing style: clean and sharp, with a knack for the nuances of dialogue between his peers and his family. Though a few “N” bombs are dropped here and there, it fits the characters who use them, and creates an aura of realism: I could “see” and “hear” the characters as though I were watching an old episode of New York Undercover or NYPD Blue.
The plot did dither a little as Alexandria set up the characters and their relationship with Detective Johnson, but once the story began to roll, the pace fairly zoomed. An added bonus was the chapters of Chase’s POV in which we experience first-hand the toll her ruse has taken on her. A toll that explains the neat twist the author pulls on us in the last act of the book. Smart and slick, Black Rain is a pretty good suspense novel, and if the novel is part of a series (as seen on the author’s website), I look forward to reading more from him.
B
