The Devil You Know
A Mystery
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $20.99
Publisher Description
Darkness is nothing new to LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan, but in P.J. Tracy’s The Devil You Know, even she isn’t prepared for the scandalous deception of deadly proportions that shakes the very foundation of Hollywood and its untouchables…and leaves her entangled in its rotten core.
Los Angeles has many faces: the real LA where regular people live and work, the degenerate underbelly of any big city, and the rarefied world of wealth, power, and celebrity. LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan’s latest case plunges her into this insular realm of privilege, and gives her a glimpse of the decay behind the glitter.
Beloved actor Evan Hobbes is found in the rubble of a Malibu rockslide, a day after a fake video ruins his career. It’s not clear to Nolan if it’s an accident, a suicide, or a murder, and things get murkier as the investigation expands to his luminary friends and colleagues. Meanwhile, Hobbes’s agent is dealing with damage control, his psychotic boss, and a woman he’s scorned.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Plausible characters and continually shifting potential motives and clues lift bestseller Tracy's strong third police procedural featuring LAPD Det. Margaret Nolan (after 2022's Desolation Canyon). When a scurrilous video pops up on the web showing beloved Disney actor Evan Hobbes having sex with a minor, the star's career implodes, despite his fervent denials and claims that the video must be a deepfake. The following day, his battered body is found at the bottom of a cliff behind the home of Disney executive David Baum. Hobbes had been one of hundreds of well-heeled guests celebrating at a lavish party on the Baum estate. Was his death an accident, suicide, or murder? The displays of colossal Hollywood egos and Nolan's reaction to them make her interviews with potential suspects and witnesses highly entertaining. Adding personal interest is Nolan's ongoing friendship with Sam Easton, a troubled Afghan War vet who suffers from PTSD. Great atmosphere, vivid characters, and an intricate fair play plot that surprises as it twists its way to a satisfying resolution make this a winner. Fans and newcomers alike will have fun.
