First published 2004
Joe Trona carries the scars of childhood tragedy across his face and deep in his psyche. Will Trona pulled him from an orphanage and made him into his personal enforcer in the brutal world of Orange County politics. Joe learned to protect his adoptive father's interests through intimidation and violence. When assassins gun down Will Trona, Joe begins hunting for the killers. He digs through his father's secret relationships, backroom deals, and growing list of enemies. Two cases dominate the investigation: a kidnapped girl taken by her unstable brother, and two street gangs that have formed an unlikely alliance. Joe follows both leads as they wind through the political underworld his father controlled. The deeper he searches, the more he discovers about Will's hidden life and the dangerous people who wanted him dead. Joe must also confront the painful memories of his own damaged past. The two investigations eventually converge in ways that force Joe to question everything he believed about his father and himself.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, action
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Orange County
Period: 20th-century
MP3 CD · Brilliance Audio
Content warnings: violence