Sometimes when you read a book with a non-professional investigating a crime, you wonder why in the world the character keeps insinuating himself into the crime, but not with the lead in Asking for Murder. Dr. Rebecca Butterman is a psychologist and advice columnist and she's thrown right into the center of the crime and has to stay involved to protect patients. 
 She's a believable character who wants to be a good friend, needs to straighten out her own relationships, and realizes her life is in danger. She's not getting a whole lot of help from the police, the family of the victim, or fellow professionals. 
 But it's not like she has a whole lot of choices. She can't turn her back on those who need her. She has to figure out not just the who of the crime but the why.