Part of Alex Delaware, book 19
First published 2006
Dr. Alex Delaware receives an urgent request from Rand Duchay, a young man he once knew as a child murderer. Years earlier, Rand and his accomplice Troy Turner kidnapped and killed a younger child when they were barely teenagers. Troy died in prison, but Rand survived his sentence. Now twenty-one and desperate to speak with Delaware, Rand never gets his chance. Someone kills him before their meeting can take place. Delaware partners with LAPD detective Milo Sturgis to investigate Rand's death. The case forces them to revisit the original horrific crime that shattered a community. As they dig deeper, they uncover a trail of madness, suicide, and additional murders connected to the past. Rand's final words to Delaware, "I'm not a bad person," suggest buried secrets worth killing for. The investigation reveals that someone may have waited eight years for revenge, or that darker truths about the original crime remain hidden. Delaware and Sturgis must confront increasingly dangerous revelations as they close in on understanding both the past murder and the present killer.
Genres: mystery, crime, detective, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: LAPD
Period: Past, Present
416 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Ballantine Books
Content warnings: child-death, murder, violence