A Picture of Guilt

The big news story in Chicago is the murder trial of Johnny Santoro, a dock worker whose girlfriend has been killed. Most Chicagoans are betting on a quick guilty verdict, but Ellie Foreman has doubts about his complicity—Santoro is strangely familiar to her. Checking back to the outtakes of a video project in progress while the murder took place, Ellie finds evidence that could save Santoro from a lifetime behind bars. It seems the perfect alibi, but the tape is compromised by radio interference and Santoro goes to jail.Almost immediately, Ellie’s world begins to shift: a suspicious vehicle follows her, the Chicago mob shows up, and the FBI wants to question her. She doesn’t have answers, but she has questions of her own about the radio transmissions. Everything indicates that someone wants something from her, something bigger than the Santoro case. If only she could figure out what it is... A Picture of Guilt follows Ellie’s award-winning debut in the crime thriller An Eye for Murder.
Smart and exciting… Hellmann knows what people are willing to die for and that knowledge makes her work shine. Dick Adler, Chicago Tribune
Hellmann owes a debt to fellow Chicagoans Sara Paretsky (complex plotting) and Barbara D’Amato (excellent research) – but she’s the brash young thing making this formula new again. I can’t wait for the next book. Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's
Hellmann has surpassed herself. Well-crafted, intense and exciting, right up to the last page… a must read. Midwest Book Review
This sequel to AN EYE FOR MURDER has it all – action, excitement, increasing tension – with the usual family complications. Library Journal