First published 2008
Massachusetts state investigator Win Garano receives an unusual assignment from District Attorney Monique Lamont. She wants him to travel to Watertown and find a dramatic case that will showcase the dangers of deteriorating neighborhoods for her public relations campaign. Garano suspects ulterior motives. Watertown hosts the FRONT, a coalition of municipal police departments created to reduce their reliance on state resources. This arrangement infuriates Lamont. Garano realizes his boss has a hidden agenda, but he cannot grasp its true scope. His investigation pulls him into a labyrinth of deception. Every lead he follows creates new questions. Nothing appears as it first seems. Garano must navigate conflicting loyalties and mounting dangers while his perceptive grandmother watches from the sidelines. Her unpredictable abilities may prove crucial as the stakes rise. The case becomes a test of Garano's ability to distinguish truth from carefully constructed lies.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, political-thriller
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: deception, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Massachusetts, Watertown
Period: 21st-century
405 pages · Hardcover · G. P. Putnam's Sons