5 Stars

You should buy this book. Even though it’s the fourth in the series, it’s the first in the chronology of the story, so it’s a good place to start.
The texture in Daigle’s writing is quite unusual. When they find a victim’s bracelet, you learn about the entire family of the jeweler who made it. When the detective walks down the street you see every leaf, every puddle, every paper blown against a chain-link fence. Pure imagery. When you read this book you will see it play on a TV screen in your head.
There’s a level of dramatic tension that’s maintained throughout the book. But it’s not the same throughout. Each sub-plot or sub-story has its own feeling of wtf is about to happen? When Nagler leaves a crime scene to go to this wife, the tension is different and maybe greater.
The detective is not a super smart, super sleuth. He’s an ordinary guy who could have ended up in a homeless shelter except for a wife that fell in love with him when they were seven years old. He’s new on the job, slightly over his head, and consumed by the crimes.
I often read mysteries in a single sitting. I couldn’t do that with this book. There’s too much going on. And that’s a good thing.

Previous Frank Nagler Mysteries:

THE SWAMPS OF JERSEY:

A GAME CALLED DEAD: . A Runner-Up in the Shelf Unbound 2016 Best Indie Book contest.

THE WEIGHT OF LIVING: First Place for Mysteries  in the 2017 Royal Dragonfly Book Award contest;  Notable 100 Book, Shelf Unbound 2018 Indie Book Awards; Named a Distinguished Favorite, 2018  Independent Press Awards; Distinguished Favorite in the 2018 Big NYC Book Contest; Finalist in the 2019 Book Excellence Awards. Gold Award Winner, 2020 Elite Choice Awards.

THE RED HAND: Distinguished Favorite in the 2019 Big NYC Book Contest; Second Place winner for mysteries in the 2019 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards;  Notable 100 Book in the 2019 Shelf Unbound Indie Book Awards;  Distinguished Favorite  in the 2020 Independent Press Awards; Nominee in the 2020 TopShelf Book Award; Gold Award Winner, 2020 Elite Choice Awards.

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