Part of Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus, book 23
First published 2015
Peter Decker has traded his high-stress LAPD career for a quiet position with the Greenbury police department in upstate New York. The sleepy town hasn't seen a murder in nearly a year. That peace ends when a naked man's body turns up deep in the woods with a gunshot wound to the head and a weapon nearby. The scene looks like suicide, but Decker must treat it as suspicious until the coroner rules otherwise. With no identification on the victim and limited department resources, Decker struggles to uncover the man's identity. His former colleague Tyler McAdams arrives to study for law school finals and joins the investigation. Their search leads them to Kneed Loft College, where they enter the complex world of advanced mathematics and academic prodigies. Behind the college's intellectual facade, they discover scheming professors, hidden codes, and a criminal underworld that turns brilliant students into dangerous masterminds. Decker must use his police experience while McAdams applies his analytical skills to crack mathematical puzzles and expose a twisted crime.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective, academic
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, enemies-to-allies, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Greenbury, Kneed Loft College, LAPD, New York
Period: Present Day
371 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow