by Ace Atkins
Part of Spenser, book 33
First published 2006
Lily Ellsworth commands respect in Dowling, Massachusetts. White-haired and steel-willed, she possesses both social standing and deep pockets. When a school shooting leaves seven dead, her grandson Jared Clark faces charges as a co-conspirator alongside the primary shooter. The evidence points toward guilt. Jared's parents have accepted his fate. The teenager himself shows no interest in fighting the accusations. But Lily Ellsworth refuses to believe her grandson committed this crime. She hires private investigator Spenser to prove Jared's innocence. What begins as a grandmother's desperate hope becomes something far more complex. Each step of Spenser's investigation reveals new complications. The case forces him to navigate between a community's demand for justice and a family's need for truth. Spenser must determine whether a troubled young man deserves salvation or punishment.
Genres: mystery, crime, contemporary, thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Dowling, Massachusetts
Period: contemporary
304 pages · Mass Market Paperback · G.P. Putnam's Sons
Content warnings: murder, violence