Intense and intricate plot. A unique look into the effects of PTSD with an impressive mystery attached. This new series highlights the seedy underbelly of LA and features two new characters. Sam Easton is a military veteran with severe PTSD, and Detective Maggie Nolan had a brother who died in service to his country. After a series of murders, they are brought together, and the military connection helps form a bond between the pair. This is a good mystery/thriller that is a quick and easy read.

Loved the characters in this story! The story is fast paced, although it can fall flat at times and make the book drag a bit. Overall enjoyed reading the book and getting to know the characters in this series.

Good start to a new series. Not what I was expecting but I’m definitely pulled in. I’m looking forward to what’s your come.

Sam Easton is the only survivor of his group and is struggling, he is going to therapy and taking medication, as well as trying to find his place in society both personally and professionally. As the local murders increase and somehow involve him and a work colleague, Melody... who has her own issues as well. There are a lot of twists and turns involving the central characters, as well as those involved in their lives. Margaret Nolan is the detective in charge to solve the murders that are happening in her area, and like Sam and Melody she is going through a few things in her own life.

This was a gripping read, I couldn't put it down. The subject of PTSD comes up a lot in mystery-thrillers, but what sets this story apart is how the authors handle the subject. It's very honest and straightforward in its approach to handle a subject matter that is often seen as taboo or at the very least not talked about. What I liked most about this story is how it doesn't sugar coat the problems everyone has, from the overzealous filmmaker to the surfer dude groundskeeper.

Highly recommend.

Sam recently came home from Afghanistan and is trying to put his life back together in LA. He is recently seperated from his wife, and transitioning back to normal life is proving to be difficult. With therapy and bartending are keeping him busy until one of his friends, melody comes to him and says that her boyfriend has beaten her. The next day, that same boyfriend is found dead and Sam is the main suspect. More murders happen and Sam and Melody are working together to solve the murder. This book was incredibly well written and the plot was very intricate. That being said, it was not necessarily the knockout first book of a series that I was expecting but I still think that I would pick up the second.

I’ve long been a fan of P. J. Tracy’s Monkeewrench series, and so I was interested to dip a toe in the waters of this first book in a new series. Deep into the Dark, I was pleased to find, solidly establishes LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan and Afghanistan War veteran Sam Easton as complex, engaging characters to shepherd readers through the investigation surrounding a series of murders in Los Angels. There’s a different vibe from the playful undertone that runs through the Monkeewrench series, with P. J. Tracy nicely incorporating Easton’s PTSD and war trauma into the story, which complicates matters for Detective Nolan, who has to figure out whether Easton is a suspect, potential victim, or something in between. Of course, as a first outing this wasn’t like slipping into the well-worn, comfy sweater of a Monkeewrench novel, but it’s a solid foundation, and I will certainly pick up the next in the series.

I received an advanced copy, of this ebook from, the publisher through netgalley. This book is well written and the characters are described well. I enjoyed how it has mental health representation. I really enjoyed this book from the first page it keeps your attention on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what happened. It is in stores now for $26.99.

I am usually a big fan of P.J Tracy but this book just fell short for me.

San Easton is a veteran living in L.A and is finally home from Afghanistan. He is separated from his wife and lives in an apartment building where mostly no one knows his name.

On a warm evening a friend and colleague shows up on his door step. Melody Traeger has been severely beaten by her boyfriend and needs a safe place to stay. Sam welcomes her and lets her stay the night. Early the next morning the police show up on Sam's doorstep. Melody's boyfriend has been murdered and they're looking at Sam.

For me this where the story started to go downhill and I struggled to keep reading. The main characters and the ones introduced later in the book just become predictable and truth be told boring. I was really happy to finish it because I had lost interest.

Of course I will always read a book by this author because I am a fan but this one struck out for me.

Thanks to NetGally for the opportunity to read and review this book.

If you, as a reader, are expecting something similar to the Monkeewrench series, you will be surprised. This is the beginning of a new series, featuring Sam Easton, a former soldier suffering from post-traumatic-stress disorder. Sam is separated from his wife, seeing a therapist, and working as a bartender to keep the bills paid.

Melody Traeger is a friend and colleague and turns to Sam for help when her boyfriend uses her as a punching bag. Unfortunately, the boyfriend is found dead the next day leaving Sam and Melody both prime suspects.

LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan is called in to investigate. She just can't buy that Sam is a murderer ... but Melody seems to have secrets. While trying to pinpoint the crime here, there's also another murder committed on the other side of town.

And just when Sam thinks things couldn't get any worse ... he develops a 'gift' of premonitions that reveal how people will die.

PJ Tracy is the pseudonym of mother-daughter writing duo P.J. and Traci Lambrecht. Lambrecht PJ passed away in December 2016, but Traci continues to write as PJ Tracy. I was not sure what to expect without one of the writing partners, but I was not disappointed.

Sam is a unique character. His Afghanistan experiences come across as credible ..and vulnerable. The arrival of his 'gift' is as much a surprise to him and it was to me. Other characters are solidly drawn and seem to thunder through the twists and turns that lead to a surprising conclusion. This is the first of a new series ... can't wait to see what follows.

Many thanks to the author / Minotaur Books / St. Martin's Press / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction/psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Too dark and gritty for me but I may try again some time. I like the Monkeewrench books but I'm just not sure about this one."

A new series from the author who pens the fantastic Monkeewrench series, and it's off to a good start.
Sam Easton was seriously injured during his stint as a soldier in Afghanistan. He has no memory of the accident that maimed him.
Now back in Los Angeles where he grew up, he is separated from his wife and in therapy, suffering from PTSD.
Working as a bar-back at Pearl Club, his friend and co-worker Melody Traeger knocks on his door at home late one night, sporting a black eye from her boyfriend Ryan.
Margaret Nolan and her partner Alex Crawford are detectives in LAPD's Homicide Special Section.
Margaret is still grieving the loss of her brother Max while deployed in Afghanistan.
Detective Nolan is on the hunt for a serial killer leaving a trail of dead prostitutes in cheap motel rooms.
When Melody's boyfriend is found murdred in his apartment, Nolan and Crawford are assigned the case.
Suspicions immediately fall on Melody and Sam.
This police procedural/mystery kept me turning pages more with the great characters than the plot, though I did find it very entertaining.
I really enjoy the author's writing style, this new series is all about the unique personalities, keeping me hooked.
Though it is named after Detective Margaret Nolan, the real focus in the story are Sam and Melody.
I look forward to learning more about the intriguing Nolan in the next book.
Thank you St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the e-ARC via NetGalley.

This was well written. It flips back-and-forth between characters. it’s a mystery novel, with a who done it at the end. I didn’t really see any types of twist in the book so I would not categorize this as a thriller more so a mystery/ detective type. Very easy read to follow and keeps you interested in what’s going on. Recommend for murder mystery lovers.

This was my first P.J. Tracy novel and I really enjoyed it. It was fast paced and I thought the characters were interesting...even the secondary characters.

The storyline kept me guessing, and that is what I love about these kinda of books. Yes, there was some predictability, but it adds to the story. Overall I give it 3.5⭐ and I can't wait to read this authors backlist!

Thank you to Netgalley, Minotaur Books, St. Martin's Press and P.J. Tracy for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is the start of a new series by PJ Tracy. I love the Monkeewrench stuff so I was excited to read something new. I very much enjoyed this book. I liked the dynamic between Sam and Melody tons. I know that the series is supposed to focus on Margaret Nolan but I enjoyed Sam as a main character more. I'm looking forward to #2.

Starting a new series after having huge success with a former series and the Monkeywrench crew, is sure to be challenging. This new series highlights the seedy underbelly of LA and features two new characters. Sam Easton is a military veteran suffering from severe PTSD and Detective Maggie Nolan had a brother who died in service to his country. They are brought together after a series of murders and the militaryy connection helps forms a bond between the pair.

I found these characters interesting, the plot fast paced but I have not quite yet connected totally with the pair. Though I found, at least so far, Sam more intriguing than Dolan. I do intend to read the next entry in this series because I am curious to where and how Tracy will develop these characters. For now, I'll just say, I thought this was good and reserve further judgement.

ARC from Netgalley.

The first book in a new series by P.J. Tracy, Deep Into the Dark tackles some dark topics, including PTSD, domestic abuse, homeless veterans, and murder, of course. Best of all, there’s a hint of telepathic powers at work here. Sam Easton is a war hero home from Afghanistan riddled with PTSD. Plagued with nightmares and separated from his wife, Easton helps out a friend after her boyfriend assaults her, only to later find himself the chief suspect in his murder. As he tries to figure out who the real murderer is and meets people along the way, he has flashes of what he begins to believe are premonitions of their deaths. But are they actual premonitions or his PTSD meds messing with his head?

A decent murder mystery with some interesting characters and plot twists but a little too much going on, leaving the whole thing feeling a little disjointed.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Into the Dark by P.J. Tracy / Pages: 343 / Genre: Mystery & Thriller

This book is difficult for me to review, because I didn't love it nor did I hate it. It's definitely dark, twisted and gritty, which I love. But, the book to me felt like it shouldn't be a Detective Margaret Nolan book, but a Sam Easton book. He and Melody definitely felt like the main characters and while that's not a bad thing it wasn't what I expected.

Sam Easton—a true survivor—is home from Afghanistan, trying to rebuild a life in his hometown of LA. Separated from his wife, bartending and therapy sessions are what occupy his days and nights. When friend and colleague Melody Traeger is beaten by her boyfriend, she turns to Sam for help. When the boyfriend turns up dead the next day, a hard case like Sam is the perfect suspect.
But LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan, whose brother recently died serving overseas, is sympathetic to Sam's troubles, and can't quite see him as a killer. Nolan's partner on the other hand wants to get Sam for the murder.
Then there is another murder and it hits close to home for Sam. Can he prove he is innocent?
Then Sam is also dealing with PTSD and we learn more of what happened to him in Afghanistan.
Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur books for the ARC to review,

I was pretty underwhelmed with this story.. I’ve had to start it over a couple times and I know that I’ll easily forget anything about this one

This is the first in a new series following Detective Margaret Nolan.

Talk about gripping! From the moment I started this book I couldn’t put it down…dinner, bathing the kid, and folding the laundry be damned!

This book is split between the perspectives of Sam Easton—who’s trying to rebuild his life after two tours to Afghanistan—and LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan who’s trying to solve a string of homicides.

Sam has been blacking out, and having hallucinations on top of the PTSD and nightmares, which isn’t helping his case as he begins to look like the prime suspect, as people in his orbit start dropping like flies.

Detective Nolan is sympathetic to Sam’s story though, her own brother died while serving overseas. But can she uncover the truth before more people bite the dust?

I really enjoyed the way this story unfolded, and it certainly kept me on the edge of my seat. The characters were well developed and I can’t wait to read more in this series. My only complaint was that I wanted a little more of Detective Nolan and the police procedural side of things. I felt like the book was heavy on Sam’s story, which I really enjoyed, but I wanted to get to know Nolan in more detail, and see what she was up to.

I can’t believe this was my first book by this author (or rather authors because I believe it’s actually a mother-daughter writing duo), I’m definitely looking forward to reading more!

The audiobook was just under nine hours long and narrated by Abby Craden. I really enjoyed her narration, and you might recognize her from The Holdout and Recursion (both of which are great on audio).

If you’re in the mood for a gritty LA mystery definitely check this one out.

Trigger warnings include PTSD, war, adultery, physical and emotional abuse, violence, and drug use.