by Robert Crais
Part of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, book 20
First published 2025
Ten years ago, thirteen-year-old Traci Beller watched her father Tommy vanish from the small town of Rancha near Los Angeles. Police assumed he abandoned his family. Multiple detectives found nothing. Now Traci has millions of social media followers and enough money to hire private investigator Elvis Cole for one last attempt. Cole travels to Rancha knowing cold missing person cases rarely succeed. He discovers that ex-convict Sadie Givens and her daughter Anya may know something about Tommy's fate. But dangerous criminals begin following Cole, transforming a simple missing person search into something far more threatening. Cole calls his partner Joe Pike, a former Marine, for backup. Together they trace Tommy Beller's path into increasingly dark territory. The case turns upside down as victims reveal themselves as predators and hunters become the hunted. Cole must question his loyalty to clients and confront whether he can save everyone caught in this web. In Rancha's shadows, he faces a test that will demand everything he has.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective, action
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Rancha, Los Angeles
Period: Ten Years Ago
384 pages · Hardcover · G.P. Putnam's Sons