First published 2013
Jimmy Ryan's mutilated body turns up in a church basement, shocking Buffalo's tight-knit Irish-American enclave known as the County. Detective Absalom "Abbie" Kearney recognizes this isn't just another murder. The killer has crafted this brutal display as a message meant specifically for her community to decode. Abbie grew up in the County before leaving for her police career, and now she must navigate its web of old-world loyalties and buried secrets. Her investigation keeps hitting walls of silence from neighbors who refuse to cooperate with outsiders, even those who share their blood. Each new victim reveals another piece of the County's hidden past, and Abbie realizes her own family history connects to the killer's twisted agenda. The murderer systematically exposes long-buried truths through calculated violence, forcing Abbie to confront both her community's dark legacy and her personal demons. She races to stop the rampage before more bodies pile up in this deadly reckoning with the past.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, enemies-to-lovers, outsider-protagonist
Setting: Buffalo, County
Period: Contemporary
320 pages · Paperback · Headline Book Publishing
Content warnings: violence