Second Watch

by Lowen Clausen

Katherine Murphy is new to Seattle's Second Watch and to the Ballard Beat. Her partner, Grace Stevens, grew up in the small Scandinavian neighbourhood and introduces Katherine to its rhythms, its people and its dangers.

When the body of a boy is found in a trash compactor, Kathrine and Grace are the first officers at the haunting crime scene. With only one clue to carry them, they take on a risky undercover assignment to search for the killer. But it may already be too late for them to save another child in desperate need of protection...

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 8, 2003

Reviews

[Kmalbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought at the closing Seattle Mystery Bookshop in 2017, because of it's 2 female officers breaking up a sex crime ring in the Ballard district. Great neighborhood characters that you would like to read about again.

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by Clausen and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Two lady police officers investigate a series of murders in Seattle and get involved in child pornography as well. Clausen is good at bringing his characters to life. Recommended.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of two lady cops, Grace and Katherine, assigned to Ballard. Characters are so well developed, you feel like you know them: Thomas, the man who lives in a recycle shed, Rigmor, the grocery store owner, Daniel and Mary, two children from a questionable home and more. If one knows Ballard at all, the descriptions of the settings are constantly bringing memories to mind of places one has been. A book you don't want to put down.

[Dan O · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was quite gripping. Though some of the early situations felt a little quaint, the main character's emotions felt genuine. In the third act, I was really rooting for the crimes to be solved in the best possible manner instead of just expecting them to be resolved by the end of the book.

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book, both as a fan of this genre and as one who lived in Seattle and visits the Ballard neighborhood. I know there is another in this series, which I will be reading next. Wish this author would write more.

[Richard O'Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good murder mystery set in Seattle about 30 years ago. Usually, not my type of preferred reading but I really enjoyed "First Avenue" so I gave it a try. It only has a fleeting mention of the first books main character but it really captures the flavor of Seattle's underbelly back then.

[Glenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I didn't think this book was as good as the first one I read but the action in the second half made it worth the read. This authors action scenes are very intense.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not spent any time in Ballard during my trips to Seattle, but after reading this book, I FEEL like I have. I wish the series did not stop with the 3rd book!

[Susan Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lowen Clausen's first book was good. Really good. But this one, his second, is wonderful!! Set in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, beat police Katherine Murphy and Grace Stevens work on a homicide case. Clawsen sets such a believable scene that I half expect to hear reports of his plot on my evening news! There are also some truly wonderful and remarkable characters in this one. I sure hope he's hot on the third.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A police thriller featuring two female cops investigating the death of a young child found in a dumpster in an effort to ensure others don't meet the same fate. I hadn't read the first book in the series before finding this one, but I enjoyed 'Second Watch' enough to put 'First Avenue' on my To-Read list, as well as any 'Third...', 'Fourth...', etc. that might follow. I liked the different perspectives of the characters that shows how valuable every person is to solving a crime.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was initially drawn to this author by the Seattle settings, the novelty of a policy officer who commutes to the station by kayak, and the detailed descriptions of police work, drawing on Clausen's extensive experience as a beat cop. Now that I've completed the second of his novels, I have come to admire his ability to create subtle, full-fledged characters with whom I emphathize. First Avenue and Second Watch are sometimes described as police procedure novels, but they are much more than that. These are books about people, good, bad and in-between, including some great characterizations of women who are both strong and vulnerable. I'm looking forward to reading his next novel in the series, Third & Forever.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clausen was a Seattle police officer for years and he knows and loves his city and its characters. The two female beat officers, Grace and Katherine are well drawn and the story of their search for the killers of two young people on their beat is a good one.

But the real stars, in my opinion, are the neighborhood folks - Rigmor the grandmotherly shop/deli owner who mothers everyone, Thomas, the homeless man who reads Loren Eiseley and explains a light clock so that I could almost understand it, Daniel and Mary the two children in danger, and Katherine's wonderful neighbor who just wants to feed everybody and who sacrifices his precious Chihuly vase to beat a very bad man over the head. I would love to meet them all again.

[Galen Johnson]

Good mystery, set in Seattle, strong female characters.

[Toesnorth's mom]

pretty good, former seattle pd