Jimerson has worked as a district attorney, and his knowledge of the milieu lends a powerful sense of verisimilitude, as when the aging E.J. muses over the changes over the years in law enforcement. The author does an equally fine job with the settings of his native East Texas: "The pallet of colors pouring out on the green hills and pine trees gave him pause." The sense of this tightly knit community is also strong, as a shared background connects E.J. more closely to an opponent than his supposed allies. Although the plot gets a little convoluted, individual scenes carry the story to a satisfying conclusion.

Best of all are the sharply limned characters—E.J. is no cardboard cowboy, but a complex figure with a difficult past and tangled family life. Jimerson does an especially effective job of showing E.J.'s sense of powerlessness as he watches his daughter’s life fall apart. E.J.'s relationship with his ex-wife Rebecca is both subtle and real: A series of sharp exchanges reveals both why they got married and why they got divorced. Readers will be heavily invested in E.J.'s odyssey, turning pages rapidly in hope that his journey ends in victory.

Takeaway: Richly drawn characters and a vivid East Texas setting highlight this noir-flavored murder mystery.

Great for fans of: Craig Johnson’s Longmire series, Jon Land’s Caitlin Strong series.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: B