The pair’s hope for a quiet by patrol is shattered when the body of a young boy is found in a garbage container. The body has been wrapped in garbage bags, so there is no chance he fell in by accident, and there are no clues to his identity. The only lead is a number written on the boy’s hand, which turns out to be e telephone number of a seedy motel. A doctor’s examination reveals that the youth had been sexually assaulted prompting the investigators to suspect they had stumbled on some sort of child pornography scheme, which may have been conducted at the hotel.

Katherine is not eager to get involved in a case with juvenile victims having had her fill in her previous position. However, after having met an engaging eight-year-old Ballard resident, she takes on the case wholeheartedly to try to make the area safe for children like Daniel Wilson. Little does she realize that her commitment to the case will involve undercover work where she will pose as a youthful prostitute.

Second Watch has much to offer beyond the emotionally charged plot of interrupting a child pornography scheme. The author is a former Seattle beat cop who clearly displays his knowledge of Seattle and the workings of a police department. His description of Katherine trying to help hospital personnel subdue a patient high on an unknown substance is both fascinating and frightening. Methods for such procedures as securing handcuffs are related in what, to this novice, appear to be accurate detail.

The author supplies ample fodder for the information junkie. One of the minor characters is a former University of Chicago professor, Thomas Rosencrantz, who has decided on an unconventional life style. He is obviously bright, has sufficient funds to invest in the stock market, but lives like a homeless individual. Although his role in the story is ambiguous (He seems to serve no useful purpose except to offer a possible explanation for why the body ended up in that particular garbage container),Thomas has some interesting comments on life. Other characters are equally entertaining. The Scandinavian store owner, Rigmor, provides insight into a different culture, and Al, a retired carpenter who relates well to Daniel are only a few of a cast who inform as well as entertain.

Clausen, simply put, has a way with words. In a few short phrases a whole image is created. Witness Rigmor’s comment on Grace’s undercover outfit. “If you carried the flag wearing that dress a lot more people would come to your parade.” He is able to create an atmosphere with his description, making the area Grace and Katherine patrol as prostitute a truly eerie place.

The characters’ personalities are well developed. Their actions and thoughts are logical based on their behavioral traits. Good guys and bad guys alike have believable reasons for doing what they do. The one enigmatic exception is Thomas Rosencrantz who doesn’t seem to have any real reason for living in a shed filled with cardboard.

Second Watch is the second novel by Lowen Clausen and the second appearance of Katherine Murphy. A few references are made to her former outing (in First Avenue), but these remarks do not hamper or confuse the reader’s enjoyment or understanding of this book. The novel provides a well written glimpse of the workings of a police department and a small ethnic community within a city.

--Andy Plonka