First Offense

Barely surviving a shooting attack by the man she believes is her missing husband, probation officer Ann Carlisle follows the investigation of the drug dealer she supervises while struggling against a corrupt criminal justice system

Nancy Taylor Rosenberg's earlier works, Mitigating Circumstances and Interest of Justice were suspense masterpieces with strong female characters. Now she's created one of her most sympathetic heroines in Ann Carlisle, a probation officer in danger from an unknown enemy who wants to harm her and her teenage son. What Ann doesn't know is whether this has something to do with one of her earlier cases -- or something to do with her husband, who vanished mysteriously four years ago. A drug dealer who saves her from a bullet has some grisly secrets of his own to hide, and Ann's lover grows more and more distant. Soon Ann realizes that she can trust no one, and must find her attacker alone.