by Kathy Reichs
Part of Temperance Brennan, book 23
First published 2024
Forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan travels to Washington DC to examine victims from a suspicious arson in Foggy Bottom. The burned property carries a dark history as the former headquarters of the Foggy Bottom Gang, bootleggers and criminals from the 1930s and 1940s. Tempe partners with television journalist Ivy Doyle to investigate the building's murky ownership. Their probe takes a deadly turn when the son of a former gang member dies in a shooting at his Virginia farm. A second fire destroys another gang-connected property, killing another victim. The pattern suggests deliberate targeting rather than random violence. Tempe realizes someone has been tracking her movements since she arrived in the capital. Each step forward in the investigation brings new dangers as the case pulls her deeper into a web of historical crimes and present-day murder.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, investigation
Setting: Foggy Bottom, Virginia, Washington DC
Period: 1930s, 1940s
288 pages · Hardcover · Scribner
Content warnings: violence