First published 2012
Joe La Brava left the Secret Service behind, but trouble still finds him on South Miami Beach. When he gets drawn into a complex scam, La Brava discovers he's caught between dangerous players: a corrupt former cop with a Southern drawl, a Cuban assassin who strips at night clubs, and an aging Hollywood actress whose glamorous past collides with a lethal present. The former movie star lives in a world where fantasy and reality blur together, and La Brava can't tell what's performance and what's genuine threat. As the con unfolds around him, La Brava must navigate between the cinematic dreams of old Miami and the violent schemes of its criminal underworld. Leonard weaves together action and dark comedy as his ex-agent protagonist faces a situation where everyone is playing a role, and the stakes are deadly real.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, action
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Miami, South Miami Beach
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
416 pages · Paperback · Mariner Books