Part of Mario Balzic Detective Mystery
First published 1985
The holiday season descends on Rocksburg, Pennsylvania, bringing more than winter cold to the small industrial town. Police Chief Mario Balzic knows Christmas means trouble. Family tensions run high, money gets tight, and people who barely hold it together the rest of the year start coming apart at the seams. This December proves no different, as calls pile up and the darkness of the season weighs heavy on everyone's shoulders. Balzic finds himself caught between his duty to keep the peace and his own mounting frustration with a job that never gets easier. The seventh case in his career as Rocksburg's top cop pushes him to his limits, forcing him to confront not just the town's problems but his own internal struggles. Constantine captures the gritty reality of small town policing during the season that's supposed to bring joy but often delivers its opposite.
Genres: drama, american-fiction, mystery, crime, contemporary
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, gritty, introspective, melancholic
Tropes: duty-vs-personal-struggle, seasonal-setting, series-installment
Setting: Rocksburg, Pennsylvania
Period: December, Christmas season
232 pages · Hardcover · David R. Godine
Content warnings: death, mental-illness, substance-abuse