Deep Zero

"Riveting reading…" — Foreword Clarion Reviews

It's one a.m. Do you know where your teenagers are? Prosecutor Dana Hargrove makes it a point to know. But one night, in the dead of winter, she should have known more.

In February 2009, Dana is the newly elected district attorney of a suburban county north of Manhattan, where she lives with her husband, attorney Evan Goodhue, and their two teenage children. The Great Recession has seen a rise in substance abuse and domestic violence. It's also the era of burgeoning social media, an intoxicating lure for wayward and disaffected teens who find new methods of victimization: a game to some, with no thought of the consequences.

During an arctic cold snap, the body of a high school student is discovered, lodged in the ice floes of the Hudson River. People are crying for justice, but there doesn't seem to be a law that fits. Days later, in one hellish night, Dana's children are sucked into a criminal investigation against several of their classmates, making her a convenient target for community outrage.

In Deep Zero, the fourth standalone legal mystery featuring the dynamic prosecutor, Dana walks the tightrope like never before in her tricky balance between professional ethics and family loyalties.

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A Dana Hargrove novel: mystery, thriller, and suspense!

"Facing situations from cyberbullying to murder, District Attorney Dana Hargrove has her work cut out for her in V. S. Kemanis's compelling legal thriller Deep Zero... Throughout, the story reveals the fascinating tactics and strategies used in litigation… The book's legal maneuvering rings true and makes for riveting reading… The characters are clearly, consistently, and compassionately written… Plot twists come along smoothly and credibly, fostered by clear character motivations. Deep Zero distinguishes itself with its powerful blend of vivid writing, legal expertise and insight, and finely and compassionately drawn characters."  Foreword Clarion Reviews

"Kemanis vividly portrays the difficulties of balancing the intricacies of the practice of law with the intimacies of the practice of parenthood. Her principal players seem particularly real… This is a confident author as at home with courtrooms, legal briefs, and summary judgments as she is with bedrooms, term papers, and adolescent anxiety."  The U.S. Review of Books

"In Deep Zero, we return to the complex world of District Attorney Dana Hargrove, who, once again, in her line of work, is dealing with several unusual cases... There are no quiet moments, the plot is extremely suspenseful, and drama abounds as well… There were times I was literally on the edge of my seat…"  Mystery Sequels

"Kemanis sets an intrepid prosecutor up against some high school drama with deadly consequences in this latest Dana Hargrove legal thriller… Kemanis writes in a style that adeptly dramatizes legal arguments while also finding moments of stark lyricism… Although court cases figure heavily into the novel's plot, the author manages to transcend the genre somewhat by delving so deeply into the lives of the teenage characters and their social circle. The result is a novel about how communities contend with their children's coming-of-age, particularly in an era when technology is shifting the ground beneath everyone's feet."  Kirkus Reviews