Part of Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus, book 21
First published 2013
LAPD detective Peter Decker arrives at a crime scene unlike any other. Hobart Penny, an elderly billionaire inventor, lies dead in his apartment alongside his pet tiger, an adult female who appears to have mauled her owner. The initial evidence points to an animal attack, but Decker quickly realizes a human killer is responsible. His investigation reveals Penny lived as a recluse with unusual sexual appetites, regularly hiring call girls for kinky encounters. The case pulls Decker from a wildlife sanctuary in the San Bernardino Mountains to the nightclub scene of Las Vegas, where suspects multiply but answers remain scarce. To solve the murder, Decker must make a dangerous choice: seek help from Chris Donatti, a criminal who fathered Gabriel Whitman, the boy Decker and his wife Rina are raising. As professional duties clash with family obligations, Decker and Rina confront difficult truths about their household and their ability to weather the storm ahead.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, family-drama, found-family
Setting: LAPD, Las Vegas, San Bernardino Mountains
Period: Contemporary
371 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow
Content warnings: explicit-sexual-content, violence