Britt Lind delivers the second book in her Hollywood Mystery series, Malevolence. Rosemaria Baker, a former homicide detective, serves as a Beverly Hills city prosecutor. 

As an assistant DA, Rosemaria investigates the death of a teenage prostitute at a plush Beverly Hills hotel. At first, no one realized that the girl’s murder could uncover a criminal conspiracy headed by a congressman with millions of dollars at stake.

Rosemaria lives with her boyfriend, Josh, a former alcoholic she met while investigating another crime. Josh, now sober, works as a performance-shy songwriter. His love song features in a high-profile motion picture, his first major show break. A major celebrity, Joell, described as part Adele and part Celine Dion performs this song.

Josh’s passion for animal rights acts as a foundation in his relationship with Rosemaria.

In the first book, Josh and Rosemaria adopt two panthers, giving the big cats a place to call home. Now, Josh’s attention turns to Sammy the elephant. For years this poor creature endured abuse at the L.A. Zoo and Josh is committed to freeing it. His efforts will ultimately involve Joell, a broad swath of Hollywood entertainers, spokespeople for the city’s homeless community, and eventually the L.A. City Council.

In addition to the murdered girl, Rosemaria investigates other cases. Those include a senior citizen accused of embezzling funds from an old folks’ home, an undercover cop overly involved in the crimes of his teenage posse, and an alleged beating of an elderly chauffeur by his employer–a prominent physician and a large political donor.

Walter Atkins, her new boss, makes Rosemaria’s job difficult. Atkins wants her to go soft on the physician because of his high-profile connections to local politicos. When he fails to dissuade her, his anger turns to rage. But Rosemaria finds ways, including at least one devious scheme, to get him off her back.

Her main concern remains the murdered girl because of its potential ties to a larger crime.

The murdered girl overheard something when she visited the hotel room of some political figure. Those words cost the girl her life. If leaked, the information could destroy a carefully nurtured criminal enterprise involving the passage of a bill through Congress with the potential illegal payoff of millions of dollars.

Rosemaria’s investigations soon uncover two young prostitutes who knew the murdered girl. Now, they find themselves in danger of being killed because of what their friend might have told them. Would-be assassins make several attempts on their lives. They track the sex workers no matter how well their protectors work to keep them safe, leaving Rosemaria to wonder just how high up the corruption goes.

Anyone who talked to the girl or her friends might have a target on their back.

Malevolence – A Hollywood Mystery is the second book in the highly-rated series by Britt Lind. Like the first book, Malevolence weaves the themes of commitment and love, along with animal rights into the narrative. And in the end, those who should get their comeuppance do.

For readers who like their police novels with a good heart, strong female leads and a well-integrated animal rights theme, Malevolence—a Hollywood Mystery will excite and satisfy.