Part of Alex McKnight, book 0.5
First published 2011
Alex McKnight returns to Detroit when a friend asks him to look into suspicious activities around the iconic Book Tower. The former police officer turned private investigator finds himself drawn into the shadows of the abandoned skyscraper that once stood as a monument to Detroit's literary ambitions. What begins as a simple favor becomes something far more dangerous as McKnight uncovers a web of corruption and violence that reaches deep into the city's past. The empty floors and forgotten corridors of the Book Tower hold secrets that someone is willing to kill to protect. McKnight must navigate both the physical dangers of the crumbling building and the human threats that emerge from Detroit's underworld. As he digs deeper, he realizes that the tower's decline mirrors the city's own struggles, and that solving this case means confronting truths about loss, loyalty, and the price of survival in a place where hope and despair exist side by side.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-detective, corruption, secrets
Setting: Detroit, Book Tower
125 pages · Minotaur Books