Police Investigative Procedure and Instinct

The novel revolves around the death of Florence Horvath and the procedures and techniques that Jesse Stone and Kelly Cruz use to first prove that a murder has been committed and then find the murderer are central to the plot. While many of the leads they have wind up going nowhere, each lead is followed up on and every individual is tracked down and questioned. Though the process is time consuming and frustrating for both Jesse and Kelly, part of what makes them good police officers is their ability to stick with the investigation even when something they are looking into turns out to be a dead end. The increasing disgust both feel for the individuals associated with the case - including the victim - is kept in the background as neither cop shows any of the possible suspects how they feel, or exactly...