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After his wife and daughter are killed by a drunk driver, esteemed detective John McBride falls into a deep depression full of alcohol and cocaine. For two years he lives in that haze. Eventually, his new captain tells him he has to solve three homicides in a year or be fired. He begins working on a case involving the rape and murder of a young woman in an alley. The signs point to her brother, but the police are unable to find him.
A few months later, two more women are raped and murdered in the same alley in very similar ways. McBride begins connecting these cases to a case in the same area that occurred a few decades earlier. However, his time is running out, and his captain and the medical examiner begin seeing suspicious signs concerning McBride and the murder cases. He is arrested and brought to trial for the second two murders. Is the state simply using McBride to close the case, or is his need to close three cases strong enough that he will resort to murder himself?
Cuomo writes an interesting crime drama. The first half plays out much like a television series, with the detectives following leads. However, Cuomo turns this simple setup around when he shows the possible involvement of the protagonist. The second part of the book leans on the author’s real-life experience as a lawyer, as McBride and his lawyer present his defense. There are a few grammatical errors, but Cuomo’s writing reads easily, and he keeps the plot interesting and moving forward. The author’s mystery novel is immensely readable and entertaining and will likely capture the attention of readers who enjoy the genre.