The Water Front

The Alex Everfcrest series take place in the recent past.
Additional Alex Evercrest books are The Girl on the Grill, Missing, and Maggot
The Water Front
A runner, probably in his late thirties, lay dead in a pool of blood that ran out of his ear. His his running shorts were pulled down and his penis was pinned to his abdomen with a pencil that had been driven through it. This is a first for the newly opened section of the Cincinnati waterfront park.
Alex Cathy Evercrest, who dreams of being an exceptional crime fighting detective, is given this as her first case.
The movied, where the good guys won the battle against the bad guys, influenced her thinking and many of the choices she made as she grew up. Now she is faced with a "bad guy", but it is not the quick gun that is needed. Instead it is a very quick mind.
Since a young girl, Alex has desired to become a detective in a city where she could make a significant contribution in fighting crime.
She has a Bachelor 0f Science in Criminology and Law Enforcement and has earned a Master's degree in Phycology. During her college years she
became a black belt in Tae-Kwon-Do. She is an excellent marksman and experienced in a wide range for weapons as part of her gun handling experience.
Her first job, for a year, was as a law clerk for a Chicago judge that was a friend of the family. She finds the work very educational but boring.
She quites and for the next three years she is a deputy in a small town. It holds little challenge for her, but she learns the ropes from an old, almost to retire sheriff.
Then she lands a job in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Alex is thrilled with the possibility of being a detective in Cincinnati. It is a smaller city, but she knows that its murder rate is comparable to New York or Chicago.
She commits to Cincinnati. On arrival she learns that no one is willing to be her junior partner.
The Chief hires Trey McGregor, a Marine veteran. Trey has several years on the Milwaukee police force. He is trying to escape the depression that a combination of PTSD and several recent murder cases in his precinct has him experiencing. He is at a very low period of his life and lacks the desire to be a lead but prefers to be backup.
Alex has suffered her own low-level of despair during her own slow career take off. She accepted the fact that she was drinking too much and joined Alchoholics Anonymous. This is her well kept secret. Her experience made her sharpen and improve herself. She is now focused on becoming a super detective as she has always wanted to be. She practices a daily routine that includes the police gun range, bicycling, running, daily floor exercises and weight training.
Her first murder case tests her capability and puts her on the hot seat with her Chief. The case has a bizarre twist that tests her capability, threatens her support, and makes her partner wonder if he has the right partner. Alex demonstrates her personal strength and pursues the killer on her own. Her preparation and skill development pay off and she overcomes the killer.