First published 2009
The Pittsburgh Homicide Department is in chaos. Detective Colleen Greer can barely focus as her boss Richard Christie lies hospitalized and her partner John Potocki's personal life crumbles. When a young boy dies from a suspicious overdose in the North Side, Narcotics pulls Greer and Potocki into their investigation. Nearby, four abandoned Philips children survive alone, their academic brilliance clashing with their desperate need for money. Nick Banks enters their world like a storm front. Fresh from prison, he owes dangerous debts to old drug trade connections. Banks is gentle by nature, a man whose charm masks years of hard luck. He offers the Philips kids a free meal without knowing how their fates will intertwine. As the overdose case deepens and the children's situation grows more perilous, Banks finds himself caught between his criminal obligations and his protective instincts. George weaves together cops under pressure, resourceful kids fighting abandonment, and a ex-con seeking redemption in a city where survival demands difficult choices.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, redemption
Setting: North Side, Pittsburgh
Period: Contemporary
352 pages · Hardcover · Minotaur Books
Content warnings: addiction, child-death, drug-use