Already sleep-deprived after spending a long night trying to console her sick toddler daughter, Melanie Vargas is rudely awoken at 2 a.m. by her demanding boss Bernadette. Two teenagers who attend an elite New York prep school have been found dead, presumably victims of a drug overdose. Bernadette is salivating over the media coverage possibilities, because one of the girls was the stepdaughter of James Seward, a wealthy Senatorial candidate. She tells Melanie to find the drug dealer responsible and wrap up the case ASAP. But as usual, Melanie’s instincts tell her to look beyond the quick, easy answer. Something about the crime scene doesn’t feel right. Seward seems more distracted than grief-stricken, some of the obvious clues seem like decoys, and a missing Latino girl who is suspected of being a drug supplier is described by her father and sister as studious and straight.  

The professional aspects of the case become personally complicated when FBI Agent Dan O’Reilly joins the investigation. Melanie and Dan first met in Most Wanted and by the end of the book seemed destined to enjoy romantic bliss together. But after an aborted, disastrous first date, their relationship came to a premature end. Although Melanie is still attracted to Dan, she knows it’s a mistake to let herself become involved with him again. As the case moves from a seedy drug-infested nightclub to the humid Puerto Rican jungle to a black tie school gala, Melanie finds both danger and passion. Bernadette may caution Melanie from becoming “overly involved” in her investigations, but that’s the only way Melanie knows to find justice.  

The Finishing School is a definite improvement over Most Wanted. Martinez seems less hesitant, and her scenes are infused with more energy, especially the ones between Melanie and her fabulously flamboyant sister, a local television newscaster. There’s also more genuine emotion as Melanie deals with her feelings towards Dan and visits a long-lost family member. Martinez and Melanie’s shared Latina heritage provides richness to the story, and the case is a veritable melting pot of African-American, Asian, and European cultures.  

The suspense plot is also stronger, with fewer gratuitous corpses and greater forward momentum. There are plenty of bad guys, including low-life drug dealers and high-powered pillars of society. Some of the villains are identified by name and others are more anonymous. Surprisingly they all fit together at the book’s exciting climax.  

After only two books, Martinez is still far from a veteran novelist and sometimes her inexperience shows. Melanie puts herself in jeopardy a few too many times; she frequently acts more like an undercover police officer than a prosecutor. And speaking of prosecution, I’m still waiting in vain to see Melanie’s courtroom prowess. She’s great a putting the clues together and solving a case along with Dan’s help, but what if she actually needed to put some of thee bad guys on trial? Then there’s the romance between Melanie and Dan. If book three of this series finds them broken up again, I will be extremely annoyed. There’s no reason why their relationship can’t move forward from this point; there’s still plenty of material to be mined as their strong-willed personalities and different backgrounds clash.  

The bottom line is that The Finishing School is a fast-paced, engaging and suspenseful novel that far exceeded my expectations. I’ll be on the lookout for Melanie Vargas’ next case, expected in early 2007  

--Susan Scribner