Barbara Parker was an attorney in Miami when she decided to go back to school and earn a master's degree in creative writing from Florida International University. Her master's thesis was also her first thriller, Suspicion of Innocence (1994), which established her as a talent to watch and introduced readers to two of the sexiest crime-solvers in fiction, Miami lawyers Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana. A tropical setting, a hot romance and danger add up to the great chemistry that has landed Parker's series on bestseller lists. But her books are more than sizzle. Her characters are fully drawn, and her themes--including the death penalty, politics and legal issues--complex.