City of Secrets

July 1, 2024
As P. J. Tracy, the mother-and-daughter team of Patricia and Traci Lambrecht wrote the popular Monkeewrench mystery series. Five years after Patricia passed away, Traci began a new series about a tough, no-nonsense LAPD detective named Margaret Nolan. In this fourth Nolan novel, a man dies in a carjacking; coincidentally (perhaps), he was poised to sell his company for a small fortune. When the dead man's wife is abducted, barely a day after he was killed, Nolan suspects things might not be as they appear. The Nolan books are noticeably different from the Monkeewrench novels; there's less humor in them, and more darkness. On the other hand, Margaret Nolan bears more than a passing resemblance to Monkeewrench's Grace MacBride--they're both smart, resourceful women who will unearth the truth no matter how deep they have to dig. All of the Nolan books have been excellent, but one thing is certain about this newest: we come to know Margaret a little bit more than we did going into the book. Readers will be excited for the next in the series.

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July 15, 2024
The latest outing for LAPD homicide Det. Margaret Nolan and her squad is a pair of felonies that she's convinced add up to a single case despite the lack of connecting tissue. Why would Bruce Messane, the co-founder of Peppy Pets, miss the biggest business meeting of his life, his sit-down with the food mogul who's interested in buying the high-end dog food company for $100 million? Because he's dead in his car in Culver City, that's why. The vanishing of the deal, which would have been a bitter blow to Messane's story of self-made success if he weren't already dead, has dire consequences for chief financial officer Cynthia Jackson, one of Messane's many ex-lovers, who owns 15% of Peppy Pets, and for retired veterinarian Rome Bechtold, Messane's former partner, who may have inherited the 70% Messane owned. But that isn't even the worst news Bechtold has to deal with, because less than 24 hours later, his wife, Nicole, is kidnapped by someone who pointedly doesn't demand any money. Learning of the abduction despite the kidnappers' threats to harm Nicole if her husband doesn't keep quiet, Maggie Nolan can't believe the two crimes aren't connected. Her attention will be demanded by a bumper crop of complications. Despite Cynthia's insistence that Messane would never steal from his own company, it looks like he's been doing exactly that. And the notorious Los Zetas mob seems to be involved as well. Tracy knits the strands together conscientiously, though not dazzlingly, and the main effect of the final curtain will be to leave you waiting for the next installment. Red meat for fans who want their procedurals as densely tangled as a real-life cop's job.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.