Police Corruption

The novel begins in the late nineties, a few short years after the riots that resulted from the acquittals of the officers involved in the beating of Rodney King. During the time after the acquittals, the police department faced much upheaval with corrupt officers being weeded out as quickly as the Internal Affairs Department can identify and investigate them. At the same time, Howard Elias has made a career of suing the police department. Howard Elias takes on clients who were arrested and somehow injured by the police department, whether with physical assault or by planting evidence against them. Elias has become the face of all the frustration against the police department that sprang up in the wake of the Rodney King case. Therefore, when Elias is found murdered, a police officer is the first suspect.

The police department is aware of the scrutiny under which the...