The Hard Way

A lifelong New Yorker, Private Investigator Rachel Alexander has lived through some rough times--from 9/11, to a difficult divorce, to cases that have taken her to the depths of the city?s dark underbelly. But when wealthy business owner Eleanor Redstone approaches Rachel to ask if she can investigate her father?s murder--a brutal slaying that occurred when he was pushed onto the subway tracks--Rachel takes the case, plunging herself into parts of the city only its poorest residents have ever known. Because to solve Gardner Redstone?s murder, Rachel must disguise herself as a homeless woman and live on the streets, searching for the dispossessed man witnesses say made the fatal push. In one of the coldest winters New York City has seen in years, Rachel is helped by a homeless Iraq War veteran, a man whose sad circumstances leave Rachel pondering her own fortunate life. From critically-acclaimed author Carol Lea Benjamin, a writer the Cleveland Plain-Dealer calls ?first rate,? this is another illuminating look into the heart of New York, a mystery with heartbreaking characters, and a story you?ll never forget.

From Publishers Weekly When a retired businessman is pushed to his death on Manhattan’s subway tracks, his daughter retains the services of PI Rachel Alexander in Benjamin’s well-plotted, thoughtful ninth episode (after 2005’s Without a Word) in her series starring the former dog trainer and her trusty pit bull, Dashiell. The police believe a homeless man killed the victim, Gardner Redstone, so Rachel?escorted by her canine companion?goes undercover as a homeless woman to track down the perpetrator. Numerous interviews give her cause to believe that malice rather than madness motivated the crime, and Rachel cleans up to pose as an employee at Redstone’s upscale leather goods store, now run by his daughter, Eleanor. Rachel’s sleuthing efforts finally pay off, but not before she experiences firsthand the painful gap between New York City’s fabulously wealthy and abject poor. Benjamin brings a strong sense of place and social conscience to her latest outing.(Oct.) Copyright ? Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist The plight of the homeless frames Benjamin’s ninth Rachel Alexander mystery. Rachel goes undercover as a homeless woman to find the homeless man who supposedly caused the death of businessman Gardner Redstone by pushing him onto the New York subway tracks. Hired by Redstone’s daughter after the police give up on the case, Rachel attempts to puzzle out what really happened, all the while noting the disparity between the lives of the homeless and those who can drop thousands on a designer purse. This popular series by genre vet Benjamin stars a female sleuth working in an urban setting but employs a lighter, almost cozylike tone. Sue O’Brien Copyright ? American Library Association. All rights reserved