by Jan Burke
Part of Irene Kelly, book 4
First published 2003
A stranger whispers to newswoman Irene Kelly on the street. She recognizes Lucas Monroe, once her college instructor with a promising career ahead. Now he lives as a homeless man, hiding from something that destroyed his life. Monroe becomes linked to blackmail and murder cases. His fall from academia to the streets puzzles Irene. Then Monroe turns up dead. His murder pulls Irene into the secrets that Las Piernas keeps buried. Someone in this quiet town has grown wealthy from those secrets. They will kill to protect what they have built. Irene must uncover what happened to her mentor and why his past caught up with him. The investigation threatens to destroy her as it did Monroe.
Genres: mystery, crime, contemporary, thriller, academic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, mentor-mentee
Setting: Las Piernas
Period: 20th-century
464 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Pocket Books 2003-04-29