by Robert Crais
Part of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, book 12
First published 2008
Fire season burns through Los Angeles hills as evacuations reveal a week-old corpse clutching a photo album. The suicide victim, Lionel Byrd, holds pictures of seven murdered women spanning seven years. Three years earlier, private investigator Elvis Cole saved Byrd from a murder conviction by uncovering evidence that freed him from charges in prostitute Yvonne Bennett's death. Cole was celebrated as a hero. Now the death album reveals Bennett as victim number five. Two more women died after Byrd walked free. Cole faces a terrible question: did his investigation cost two lives? The LAPD task force shuts Cole and partner Joe Pike out of their inquiry, determined to close the case quickly. Cole must fight to learn the truth about Byrd and the album while clearing his own name. Politics and corruption cloud every lead as Cole discovers nothing matches what it appears to be.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: deception, redemption, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Los Angeles
Period: 3 years earlier
288 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster
Content warnings: death, murder