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Elena Estes is back in Tami Hoag’s latest book, The Alibi Man. She is working as a stable hand, far removed from the danger of her previous life, as an undercover narcotics cop.  Nonetheless, danger manages to find Estes, when her friend and coworker is murdered, the body dumped in a swamp to feed the resident alligators. Estes immerses herself in the investigation, staying just one step ahead of her former lover, Detective James Landry, and the Russian mob, to discover an allegiance of secrets.

Irina Markova seemed to have the world at her fingertips.  She was beautiful, outrageous and favored by the wealthiest men in Palm Beach.  She planned to snag a rich husband, but instead, she was murdered and her body fed to alligators. Too bad for the killer, Elena Estes found the body. Estes knows the intricacies of high society as only an insider could.  Adopted and raised by Edward Estes, a prominent defense attorney, Elena knows first hand that justice has a price.  Twenty years earlier her fiancé, Bennett Walker, asked her to provide an alibi when he was accused of beating and raping a woman.  Walker escaped justice once, but when Elena learns he was intimately involved with Irina, she vows he won’t escape a second time.

“I looked away from Bennett, pulling in a slow deep breath, trying to rein myself in.  I am and always have been my own worst enemy.  I should have kept my cool with him.  I should have at least pretended not to be affected by him. But my emotions regarding Bennett Walker had been held inside me like a festering abscess for a very long time.  The person who said time heals all wounds didn’t know jack shit.” - pg 153

Elena is haunted by the past.  She has been injured both physically and mentally, but she has yet to heal completely. She keeps people at a distance; refusing to rely on anyone but herself; refusing to accept comfort or love; which makes her at turns sympathetic and frustrating. The story is well woven, complex enough to keep readers guessing, and rich with sub plots.  It is an extremely quick read, with crisp writing and tight suspense. I only hope we see a softer side of Elena in future books.