by Lia Matera
First published 2021
Laura Di Palma has everything lined up perfectly. Partnership at her law firm awaits. Her Mercedes is paid off. Her apartment satisfies her. Then her world fractures. Her sick boyfriend Danny vanishes from his hospital bed. Her firm's detective, who happens to be her ex, wants another shot at romance. Work becomes a minefield when activist Danny Crosetti lands on her desk, charged with murdering an FBI agent. The firm's top partner delivers an ultimatum: drop Crosetti or lose your job. Laura refuses to abandon Danny, an old friend from her protest days. A second killing complicates everything. Laura must navigate her crumbling personal life while her ex hovers nearby, offering help she desperately needs but cannot afford to accept. The clock runs down as she hunts for the real killer, knowing that failure means losing her career, her future, and possibly her life.
Genres: suspense, mystery, contemporary, legal-thriller
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Law Firm
Period: Contemporary
214 pages · Kindle Edition · MysteriousPress.com/Open Road
Content warnings: death, murder, violence