During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, a woman is brutally stabbed in her Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. With police resources strained and conventional crime-solving tools hampered by the coronavirus, U. S. Attorney Mo Katz and his staff are called upon to help Alexandra detective Sherry Stone track down the assailant. For Katz, this is personal; the victim is the Deputy U. S. Attorney for the Civil Division. The investigative unit relies upon unconventional tools to complete its work, including video teleconferences and a virtual street search. The list of suspects includes a veteran prosecutor who was passed over for the deputy’s job, a government contractor who was represented by the victim’s prior law firm, a legal assistant, and a family member of the victim, namely her mother, who is a member of the Washington elite. . Just as the assault appears to be on the cusp of being solved, a death occurs. Was it a murder or suicide? The investigation suddenly takes a series of unexpected twists and turns. As the investigative team focuses its attention upon an unlikely suspect, a surprise confession adds further confusion and intrigue to the case… and may provide a strategic means by which the culprit can escape punishment. Katz and his top-notch team of investigators pursue the case with alacrity and ingenuity against the backdrop of a pandemic, with crooks and swindlers offering phony contracts to manufacture protective masks and other equipment to safeguard the public.
“Slaters Lane” is the third book in the Mo Katz mystery series. Author John Adam Wasowicz has over 30 years of practicing law in the public and private sectors. He has experienced legal representation on both sides of a case as a state prosecutor and as a criminal defense attorney. “Slaters Lane” is narrated by Nicole Lacroix, a radio personality in Washington, D. C.