Former Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, who is exploring a run for the U.S. Senate, defended her role in a 2007 criminal case involving the death of Franconia Police Cpl. Bruce McKay.

A new book by Boston television reporter Casey Sherman on McKay's case was reviewed by retired Concord Monitor Editor Mike Pride in last Friday's Valley News.

The book also describes the roles of McKay's killer, Liko Kenney, and the man who shot and killed Kenney, Gregory Floyd.

According to Pride, Sherman portrays Ayotte as being "overeager to lionize McKay and to clear Floyd of wrongdoing in the shooting of Kenney."

Pride writes, "Sherman makes this last point by showing how Ayotte misstated the facts to strengthen her points."

Ayotte said she has not yet read the book, titled "Bad Blood: Freedom and Death in the White Mountains."

"I would like to look at the book, but that case was investigated by the Major Crime Unit of the State Police, and that was the investigation I relied on," she said. "Not only that, but there was a video tape of those individuals. The video tape in a case like that is very unusual.

"The facts showed that Liko Kenney opened fire on McKay and ran him over and so those were the circumstances that were presented and that was what was reflected on the video. Obviously, it was a difficult situation, but those were the facts," Ayotte said.