First published 2017
Buddy Steel has built his career working homicide cases for the LAPD. Sharp, cynical, and comfortable with big city police work, he expects to stay put. Then his father Burton Steel calls him home. The legendary sheriff runs law enforcement in Freedom, a wealthy coastal town one hundred miles north of Los Angeles. Burton is dying from Lou Gehrig's disease. He wants Buddy to return, cover for him, and eventually take over as sheriff. Buddy agrees reluctantly. He outgrew Freedom long ago and knows his father's controlling nature well. As soon as Buddy arrives, a new case lands on his desk. The wife of a prominent televangelist has vanished. The missing woman's husband leads a world famous television ministry based in Freedom. When Buddy visits the family home, he meets hostility and resistance. He realizes this case involves much more than a simple disappearance. While navigating his complicated relationship with his dying father, Buddy uncovers a web of corrupt families, ruthless con artists, dangerous gangs, drugs, and murder. A mysterious woman also enters his life and challenges everything he believes about relationships.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: family-drama, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Freedom, LAPD, Los Angeles
Period: Contemporary
296 pages · Paperback · ReadHowYouWant
Content warnings: terminal-illness