C. A. HADDAD – Caught in the Shadows. Becky Bielski #1. St. Martin’s, hardcover, 1992. Worldwide, paperback, 1994.

   Carolyn Haddad has written several other books, none of which are typical murder mysteries; as is the case here. Becky Bielski is a computer hacker working for a “research firm” that digs dirt out of data banks. She has a somewhat murky,past, with a long-dead mother convicted of killing Becky’s stepfather. While working on a current case, she comes across her almost forgotten stepbrother, and soon is digging into her own past.

   I liked this considerably. Haddad is an excellent storyteller with a humorous but effective style, and a real flair for characterization.. Becky is a thoroughly appealing heroine, and, mirabile dictu, the plot was tight and credible. A good read.

Bibliographic Note:   The second, and last, of C. A. Haddad’s Becky Bielski series was Root Canal (Severn, 1994). She also wrote five other crime and suspense novels that are included in Al Hubin’s Crime Fiction IV.