Alexandra is having a tough go of it after returning to her hometown of Los Angeles, from her successful career in New York. She has come home to be with her dying mother, who has always been her best friend. While they continue to have a good relationship, Alexandra's feelings for her father are not so kind. Currently running for re-election as L.A.'s District Attorney, Thomas Kendell is a powerful and self-absorbed man. Having hired his competent daughter into the D.A.'s office, his detractors have seized upon this situation to claim nepotism. Alexandra, who is bright and hard-working and very successful in New York, now has to deal with the fact that some of her fellow attorneys don't respect her. Divorced, lonely and worried about her mom, Alexandra is struggling to readjust to life in California.

The conflict comes when Alexandra hears a deathbed confession of another patient her mother has met in the hospital. Erica Collins is insistent: twenty years ago, she helped her then-husband George Collins murder his best friend, Jeffrey McGrath, and then cover it up. What appeared on the surface to be a hunting accident was a cold-blooded murder, says Erica. And even though the evidence clearly contradicted the accident findings, no one was ever charged with murder. The shocking revelation for Alexandra however, isn't that a crime was covered up. It's that the Deputy D.A. who signed off on the case was Thomas Kendell, Alexandra's father.

"'Your mother said you'd prosecute anyone if you felt that person had violated the law,'" says Erica. "'You're quoted here as saying 'no one' is above the law. Is that true?'" And here lies Alexandra's dilemma.

Author Mimi Latt is skillful at weaving the tale as Alexandra begins looking into the death of Jeffrey McGrath twenty years ago. Along the way she meets and shares a little chemistry with McGrath's son Michael McGrath, now a movie director. She discovers that the widowed Mrs. McGrath has become Mrs. George Collins, a very interesting detail. She finds the elderly parents of the deceased and feels that Jeffrey's mother, at least, has reservations about the accident scenario. And there is also Michael's sister Sally, an emotionally frail woman kept away from Alexandra by her very protective family.

Along these lines, Latt creates a nice web of clues for the reader to sort from. And of course, Alexandra's ethical dilemma is compounded by the fact that her distant father will reveal nothing about the case and seems to be hiding information. Then too there are his political foes who would love to see any scrap of info come to light, if it will hurt Kendell's chance for re-election.

Where the story falls short is with the characterization. Alexandra is just too typical: blonde, pretty, thin, honest but misunderstood, lonely but nearly perfect. Of course the one love of her life, Patrick Ross, is now a handsome, intelligent, gifted and nearly perfect criminal defense lawyer. How convenient for Alexandra, when she is charged with a serious crime!

Latt's strength in Ultimate Justice is weaving the characters and the mystery together. And with the lesser characters, she is successful. Alexandra's dying mother and distant father, along with the McGrath family are believable people. But poor Alexandra suffers a more wooden fate. When ex-boyfriend Patrick enters the story, she becomes especially predictable and loses her sparkle. Read Ultimate Justice for a clever whodunit (and why they done it) and it's an enjoyable read. Just ignore Alexandra Locke a bit to get to the good stuff.

--Martha Moore