Justice For All by Joanna Wayne, Code Red, July 2005, Rating: A

This was the last in the Code Red series and I enjoyed it. I wasn't sure if Police Chief Max Zirinsky would get his own story, but it seems fitting that the series ended with his. A pattern emerges in a string of "accidental deaths" involving criminals who've escaped the law. Max Zirinsky suspects that someone has become a vigilante.

His hunt for a serial killer leads him to Courage Bay's social elite circle. He needs a way to infiltrate their ranks, enter hospital chief of staff Callie Baker. Her solution: pretend they're dating. But the attraction is all too real, and neither of them can "pretend" for long. Then the killer sees through their relationship. Callie is helping Max's investigation. Soon she finds her own life at risk from someone obviously not happy she's helping with the case.

The tension between Max and Callie is believable in that he does not believe he belongs in her world. It's clear the attraction is there from the beginning, it's just a matter of time before they realize it. And with the stress of an intense case forcing them to work together it's only a matter of time. People are suspicious of their sudden relationship when they first appear together, but it doesn't take long for people to see them together to believe it.

We get a glimpse of many of the other characters we've met throughout the series, which is one of the reasons I enjoyed this series. Their lives all seemed to be intertwined, even if it's very loosely. A good story, I enjoyed getting to know these two. I give it an A.

©Susan Falk and phantomroses.com