Part of Mario Balzic Detective Mystery, book 6
First published 1986
Police Chief Mario Balzic works another difficult case in his Pennsylvania mill town. The veteran cop knows that in places like Rocksburg, bodies turn up and people have reasons to trade information, favors, and silence. Balzic navigates the familiar terrain of local politics, family secrets, and economic desperation that shapes his community. He deals with witnesses who know more than they say and suspects who have their own version of justice. The investigation pulls him deeper into the web of relationships that bind and divide his neighbors. Constantine places Balzic in situations where his experience as both cop and community member gets tested. The chief must balance official duty with personal knowledge of the people involved. This case forces Balzic to confront how well he really knows the town he has served for years.
Genres: american-fiction, mystery, crime
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: community-member, police-officer
Setting: Pennsylvania, Rocksburg
Period: 20th-century
Paperback · Allison & Busby