Book Review – Guilty by Karen Robards

One cold November night when Kat Kominski was 15 years old, she snuck out of the foster home she was living in to go joyriding with friends.  When they stopped at a convenience store to buy beer, Kat and another girl went to use the bathroom.  While they were in there they heard a gunshot and ran outside.  A young off-duty cop lay bleeding on the ground…shot by one of the boys Kat was with that night when he (the off-duty cop) tried to prevent the the boys from holding up the convenience store.  Everyone jumped in the car and took off except for Kat, who stayed with the young cop, pressing on his wound and trying to stop the bleeding….until she realized he was gone.  She stayed until she heard sirens approaching, then she, too, fled the scene, and no one was ever caught.

Thirteen years later, Kat – now Kate White – has built a new life for herself.  Now a single mom with a nine-year-old son, she works as a prosecutor in the Philadelphia DA’s office.  But her past returns to haunt her when she walks into court one day and all hell breaks loose.  In the middle of a shoot-out in the courtroom in which two prisoners are attempting to escape, Kate is taken hostage by one of the prisoners.  He takes her into one of the underground hallways connecting the courthouse to the jail, holding a gun on her the entire time.  He gives the police 20 minutes to get him a way out, or Kate dies.  While waiting, another prisoner shows up…one who was also in on the attempt to escape plan but wasn’t in the courtroom.  As the two prisoners talk, the one holding Kate hostage is killed by the other…..leaving Kate to wonder if she’s next, or if this prisoner just saved her life.  But when the prisoner turns and smiles at her and calls her "Kitty-Kat" she realizes that things are only going to get worse.  Her "savior" is none other than Mario Castellanos, one of her companions from that terrible night 13 years ago.

Hardcore criminal Mario is facing a possible sentence of 20 years.  He lets Kate know that he is counting on her, his "old friend" turned prosecutor, to make sure he goes free instead.  If Kate doesn’t do what he wants, he’ll claim SHE was the one who killed the off-duty cop.

Kate’s in a bit of a pickle.  If the truth about her past gets out, she stands to lose everything, including her son.  But she can’t do what Mario wants, either.  As Mario ups his demands, blackmailing and terrorizing her, she is forced to turn for protection to homicide detective Tom Braga, who suspects her of….something.  Kate and Tom clash repeatedly as Tom keeps digging into her past, trying to learn the truth.

Then a far more menacing threat rears it’s head, leaving Kate to realize that her life and her son’s life are in danger.  Growing more terrified by the minute, Kate realizes she has nowhere to turn….except maybe to Tom.

All in all, a pretty good book.  It didn’t "grab me" and make it impossible for me to put down, but it was pretty good.  The ending was a little anti-climactic, though.