Dark Secrets in the City of Angels -- P. J. Tracy's City of Secrets book review

Every big city in America has its share of serious crime... but in a sprawling megalopolis like Los Angeles,  there’s your run-of-the-mill crime, and then there’s your okay-that-went-crazy-really-effing-fast crime.

 

In the latest entry in P. J. Tracy’s Detective Margaret Nolan series, City of Secrets, Maggie—along with her stalwart partner, Al Crawford—are definitely ankle-boots-and-loafers-deep in the latter.

 

 

After arriving on the scene of what—at first glance—almost certainly appears to be  “just” another fatal car-jacking, Maggie and Al soon realize that the dead guy in the fancy car was actually the owner of a premium pet-food company worth millions... which he just so happened to be in the process of selling, for a huge profit. And that immediately puts a whole different spin on things. 

 

Sure, in the part of town where things went down—one of those areas someone super-wealthy only goes with the idea of scoring something illegal, in mind—being rich and stupid go hand-in-hand. But the detectives know that anyone with that kind of money almost always has other people on the payroll to take care of such seediness for them.

 

Then, when the wife of the victim’s business partner is kidnapped the very next day—in broad daylight, from right off her luxuriously-manicured street—well... Maggie and Al’s joint Spidey senses tell them something else is most definitely going on.

 

But, the more leads they unearth and trails they follow, the bigger—and weirder—it all gets.

 

From drugs, sex, and gang activity, to shady big business dealings, to hints of a mythical “Angel of Death”, Maggie and Al have their hands full, trying to bring a tiny bit of justice in the midst of so much chaos in the City of Angels.

 

 

Besides Maggie and Al, Tracy once again brings back several supporting characters, who serve to flesh out both their work and personal lives. 

 

In particular, Maggie’s on-the-DL relationship with fellow detective Remy Beaudreau is heating up... and putting them in ever more danger of being found out. Also back is Sam Easton, a wounded veteran suffering from PTSD, who once again lends the detectives his expertise and insight.

 

But by far the biggest supporting star in City of Secrets is the location, itself... L.A., an almost-unbelievably vast sprawl of desert, ocean, valleys, canyons, mountains, and endless freeways... a place where the “dens of iniquity” are as often to be found in the glitziest and costliest of mega-mansions, as in the downtrodden squalor of forgotten neighborhoods. (If you want an honest travelogue of present-day L.A., this book wouldn’t be a bad place to start.) 

 

I really enjoyed City of Secrets. P. J. Tracy has gotten into a good groove with Maggie Nolan and company, with each outing building on the previous books—but always fine to read as standalone works, as well. 

 

If you’re a fan of police procedurals and modern police detective stories—and really enjoy well-done “local color”—this should find a place on your short list. 

~GlamKitty