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Reviewed by Pennell Paugh
February 12, 2023 (San Diego) – Hooker Avenue is the second in the Queen City Crimes series by San Diego author Jodé Millman. Attorney Jessie Martin lives in upstate New York's Hudson Valley. Driving at night, she is on her way home during a violent thunderstorm when she spots something.
“The amber glare of the parking lot’s lights shimmered along a narrow ditch lining the edge of the lot, and the beams of her headlights shone like a spotlight across the grassy roadside. Never veering from the path of light, Jessie inched closer to the slippery ridge of the ditch. In a flash, the landscape became bathed in a blinding white light and then faded back to black. A sudden clap of thunder made her start and, losing her footing, Jessie tumbled forward onto the slick, rain-soaked earth. Her hands and knees sunk into the mud as she caught her breath and collected her wits. Water dripped into her eyes, and she blinked it away to regain sight. Her eyes searched frantically through the storm for whatever she believed she’d seen.”
It is a woman drowning in a storm drain.
Responding to the scene is Jessie's former best friend, Detective Ebony Jones. Ebony and her partner are investigating a string of disappearances of sex workers. The assault matches the other crimes with one difference—the victim is still breathing.
Before Jessie can make amends with Ebony, she's thrown into a dilemma. A former rival offers her a job in his law firm, and as an unemployed single mother, she can't say no. But this also means she can't help Ebony with her case. Jessie's employer is now the attorney of record for the victim, Lissie Sexton. Not only that, Lissie has gone into hiding, which places the two old friends on opposite sides of the law.
To help save lives, including Lissie’s, Jessie risks her job and perhaps her license to practice law in order to find Lissie. Will Jessie ruin her career and her relationship with the father of her baby, who is also the District Attorney? After everything that she risks, will she be able to convince Lissie to stand trial as a witness against the man who beat her severely?
In 2020, Jodé Millman received her BA and JD from Syracuse University, and attended NYU Law School, concentrating on law and literature. She obtained her MA in English Literature from Eastern Michigan University, and has taught at Detroit Mercy Law School and Marist College.
Millman is a member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime and Romance Writers of America. Also, she is a member of the San Diego Writers and Editors Guild. Her new thriller, Hooker Avenue, released by Level Best Books is inspired by a real crime in the Hudson Valley. She is presently at work on the third thriller in the series.
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