LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan is struggling to move forward after the death of her brother in Afghanistan. Her mother is also having a hard time and Margaret is afraid her parent's relationship is falling apart. Margaret goes to the Hotel Bel-Air for cocktails with a colleague and while there they discover a body in the lake on the grounds of the hotel. Nolan soon finds herself investigating a cabal that might just destroy her and everyone she loves. This is the 2nd book in Tracy's new series and it got off to a slow start. It wasn't until the last third of the book that it finally took off. I actually liked the first book better than this one. Hopefully, the next book will hold my interest more or I will have to give up on this series. I loved the Monkeewrench series with it's humor which this one seems to be missing. Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur books for an ebook.

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Second in a new series. I was happy to see Sam Easton return, and it does seem like he and Nolan will be the two main protagonists in this series. Not partners, since he's not police, but assistance when needed. This time around the villains are obvious from the start since we're getting their POV. The short chapters from multiple POVs keep the action moving. I felt Tracy captured the Bel-Air scenery well but not so much the Death Valley parts - that could have been set anywhere. I liked Nolan's relationship with her family, I like how Easton is working on his recovery, and the surrounding characters are fine if not fully 3D. The villains and their operation were maybe a tad over the top, but not bad, and maybe the plot could have used one or two fewer coincidences. This is good entertainment, and a perfectly good thriller/procedural, but for me it's easily forgettable. The characters are not as quirky as in the Monkeewrench novels, and it doesn't have the same humor. I have bought these two because of the author, and I'd read another, but they won't be on my "gotta have it" list.

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