Luggage from the Dead

Guiltless is a skillfully woven account of real cases investigated by author Lieutenant Winona M. Franz Nonie retired during her long and distinguished career in law enforcement with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. All major personalities are living or have lived with the exception of Lieutenant Fuller. Due to the delicate subject matter the names of all leading characters have been changed. The perpetrator begins his crime spree with a vicious child molestation followed by a series of rapes burglaries and culminates with a senseless murder. Fearful uncooperative victims and a family deeply involved in a mysterious folk religion hamper the investigation. Detective Housman pursues the suspect over a three-year period only to have him slip through her grasp due to lack of evidence. Her desperate search for the rapist offers superior insight to police work and a system of justice that all too often protects the guilty. Author Franz injects much-needed comic relief as she adroitly delineates her supporting cast; her incorrigible father irascible housekeeper and a conceited boyfriend who she holds at arms length. While the book is designed as fiction the teenage sexual psychopath Detective Sergeant Adee Housman aggressively pursues is a real person who is presently serving time.