First published 1992
The Continental Op arrives in Poisonville to find the last honest citizen has been murdered. The nameless detective from the Continental Detective Agency faces a town where corruption runs through every institution. Police, politicians, and gangsters work together in a web of violence and graft. The Op decides to stay and clean house, even if it means taking on the entire city. He plays the corrupt factions against each other, using their greed and paranoia as weapons. Bodies pile up as the Op methodically dismantles the criminal network that controls Poisonville. The detective must navigate a world where violence is the only currency and trust is a luxury he cannot afford. This is a story about one man's war against systematic corruption in American society.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective, action
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, gritty, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Poisonville
Period: 20th-century
Paperback · Vintage
Content warnings: graphic-violence, violence