In 2006, author Patricia Cornwell took a break from her award-winning novels featuring medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta to write “At Risk”, a 200 page novella about Win Garano of the Massachusetts State Police, and D.A. Monique “Money” Lamont. The book was turned into a Lifetime movie executive-produced by Cornwell and starring Andie MacDowell (“Groundhog Day) as Lamont and Daniel Sunjata (“Rescue Me”) as Garano.
Boston D.A. Lamont is running for Governor and to drum up voter support, she announces she is creating a new forensic lab to solve crimes. For her first case, she chooses a cold case, a twenty year old unsolved murder from Knoxville, Tennessee. (It’s never explained how she thinks solving another State’s case will impress Massachusetts voters). Garano is tapped to investigate, aided by Detective Sykes, a Knoxville cop played by Annabeth Gish (“Pretty Little Liars”), and Ashley Williams (“How I Met Your Mother”), whose character has the unfortunate name of Stump. Just…Stump. Diahann Carroll (“Grey’s Anatomy”) plays Garano’s Nana, and Cornwell herself has a brief appearance as a waitress.
When Lamont’s life is threatened and more importantly, he gets a phone call warning him that his Nana will be hurt if he goes to Tennessee, Garano stays in Boston and begins piecing together what connects the Tennessee murder and the attack on Lamont. Someone from Lamont and Garano’s past is revealed to be not who she thought he was, and one member of the team meets a tragic end.
I wish Cornwell had written more than 200 pages of this story and fleshed it out more, but Daniel Sunjata and Annabeth Gish save the inconsistent plot with good acting that keeps the story moving forward. Fans of Lifetime movies can pick up At Risk on DVD from Amazon.com for $6.99.
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