by Dell Shannon
Part of Lieutenant Luis Mendoza, book 4
First published 1977
Detective Luis Mendoza has two problems tearing his life apart. His explosive fight with redheaded Alison Weir has ended the only relationship that ever made him consider marriage. Meanwhile, a rapist killer stalks Los Angeles, and Mendoza suspects one of the crimes already sent an innocent man to death row. Alison tries to move on with help from well meaning friends like Sergeant Hackett and his new wife, who parade potential suitors past her. But after Luis, these men seem colorless and dull. When one of Mendoza's legendary hunches breaks the case wide open, the solution leads straight back to his personal life. Alison finds herself walking directly into the killer's path, and Mendoza must race to save the woman he drove away.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Los Angeles
Period: 20th-century
288 pages · Hardcover · Gollancz
Content warnings: violence