cover image Deep into the Dark

Deep into the Dark

P.J. Tracy. Minotaur, $26.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-250-75494-3

This riveting series launch from bestseller Tracy (the Monkeewrench series) introduces LAPD Det. Maggie Nolan, as well as Sam Easton, an Army veteran who has recently returned from Aghanistan with PTSD. Sam bartends at Pearl Club, a haunt of Hollywood bigwigs, where fellow bartender Melody Traeger asks for his help after she’s beaten up by her boyfriend, music promoter Ryan Gallagher. A day later, Gallagher is murdered, and Sam becomes a suspect. Maggie investigates, interviewing both Sam and Melody. When Sam’s estranged wife, Yukiko, is also murdered, Sam again becomes a suspect. Maggie, whose brother was killed in Afghanistan, is reluctant to believe Sam is guilty of either crime. Meanwhile, Melody reports being targeted by a stalker. When evidence emerges that implicates Sam in Yukiko’s murder, Melody helps him avoid arrest, and together they try to discover the stalker’s identity. The suspense rises as the plot takes some unexpected twists and turns. Readers will want to see more of Maggie, a complicated woman determined to succeed in a profession dominated by men, and the troubled Sam, who does his best to do the right thing. [em]Agent: Ellen Geiger, Frances Goldin Literary. (Jan.) [/em]