by S. J. Rozan
First published 2002
A midnight phone call from the NYPD pulls private investigator Bill Smith from his bed. Police are holding Gary, a fifteen-year-old boy Bill recognizes. Before Bill can learn why Gary was arrested, the teenager slips away into the night. Bill teams up with his partner Lydia Chin to track the missing boy. Their search leads them to a small New Jersey town where high school football dominates everything. Bill discovers that Gary's family has ties to this community, but the town guards its secrets closely. As Bill digs deeper, he uncovers a crime buried years ago. The investigation forces him to face painful memories from his own past. Gary remains missing while danger builds around him. Bill must solve the old crime and confront his personal demons if he wants to find the boy alive and prevent another tragedy from striking the football-obsessed town.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: New Jersey, New York City
Period: 20th-century
304 pages · Hardcover · Minotaur Books
Content warnings: death, violence