A thriller is often made or broken by the intensity of the villain. The City of Secrets’s Angel of Death is preternaturally evil, mysterious, and casts a pall on everyone whose lives are touched by them. Ringo, a confidential informant tells his Homicide handler that he’s leaving town because of a very-real specter: “This motherfucker is scary, and he’s somebody big.” He’s a “kind of a jefe,” he continues and one visit from him was enough for Ringo: “My buddy Chick in Culver City got a visit too. He says the dude is the angel of death, that all this rain and shit is a sign the devil is coming for us. Like in Revelations.”

City of Secrets is the fourth Detective Margaret Nolan Los Angeles based mystery. Nolan has a great repartee with her co-workers in the “vaunted” Homicide Special Section. That said, her romantic relationship with fellow detective Remy Beaudreau appears to be an open secret, and how will that play out if Captain Mendoza clues in? Cue recollections of The Big Easy.

Remy Beaudreau’s low, smooth voice behind her startled as much as it catalyzed a furious rush of endorphins. She loved the sizzling high, but hated that she was a feeble pawn to biology in even the most inappropriate circumstances. She came from a long line of control freaks, and had probably absorbed the trait in the womb. Hormonal autopilot contravened her most basic principles.

Remy is smooth, attentive, wealthy and he listens to her so what’s not to love? But Maggie’s career success has been achieved through hard work, intelligence, and perseverance. Can she risk jeopardizing that? Maggie and Remy relationship weaves through the story, occasionally in the most one-degree-of-separation ways (like Remy catching a huge clue while nursing his sorrows because he’s having to drink alone at the Bel-Air bar).

In Los Angeles it’s not unusual for folks to moonlight in the film industry. Meet “Roscoe Miles, lead tech and dilettante filmmaker.” When Nolan is called out to a late-night crime scene during a monsoon, Ross steps up. Helpful, since her partner Al Crawford is stuck in L.A. traffic.

He gestured to the car. “This is a mess. Everything is soaked inside and out. We can’t lift prints until everything dries out, and it’s not going to impound until we work it on-site.”



“Can you get a generator and some heaters or fans?”



“Working on it.”



“You never disappoint, Ross.” She peered inside. No outward signs of a struggle. The man was mid to late fifties, she guessed; well-dressed, as she’d expected. His abundant, artfully graying hair was plastered to his skull. A droplet of water trickled down his artificially tight, blanched cheek, and dripped on the front of his sodden cashmere sweater. The small hole in the middle of his forehead was clean, scoured of blood by the rain. From the size and minimal damage, most likely a .22. “He saw it coming.”



“Yeah. Poor bastard. Carjacking?”



Possible, but those assholes usually carry bigger pieces. And his window is down. It’s been too cold and rainy for that all week, so there was another reason it was open, and it wasn’t to greet a carjacker.”



Ross brightened. “Maybe he knew his killer.”

P.J. Tracy has us on the ground floor of the investigation. What’s a “big, fancy car” doing “in a bad part of town?” Unusually, the car looks like it was driven there. The owner wouldn’t have brought it to Poppy’s body shop in the middle of a rainy night for mechanical work, so who was he meeting? Nolan’s partner is still delayed by the beastly weather. When Crawford finally arrives, he’s huddling under a tiny unicorn-decorated umbrella: Nolan takes a few surreptitious pictures.

Ross finally has a generator up-and-running—how’d that miracle transpire? A neighborhood cop, Gonzales, persuaded Poppy to lend his equipment. Ross is grateful.

He smiled slyly. “I’m taking Gonzales out for a drink later to thank him.”



“I hear workplace romances can work out occasionally,” Crawford said cheerfully.



“It’s just a drink.”



“That’s how it all starts. Isn’t that right, Maggie?”



She eviscerated him with a look.



Ross watched them curiously. “Am I missing out on something?”



“Absolutely nothing at all, unless you didn’t realize that Al can be a pain in the ass,” she snapped, then regretted because Ross was very intrigued now.

Oh dear, as her mother had always reminded her, “her rare combination of strawberry-blond hair and pale skin made her a genetic tinderbox and her temper should be managed early.” Enough with the uncomfortable banter. Nolan’s professionalism kicks in. The dead man behind the wheel is Bruce Messane. Hearing that name causes Ross’s face to “crumple.”

“What, you know him?”



“Of him. He the Peppy Pets guy. He formed the company because his cats died from tainted food. Really sad.”



“How the hell do you know this?” Crawford asked.



“The story is on the back of every bag of dry food. Man, I hope the company doesn’t go under. My cats won’t eat anything else.”



“I think it’s too big to fail,” Nolan reassured him.

Nolan quickly finds out that the victim’s company was “about to sell for millions.” Is the money on the table a motive? Within twenty-four hours, Messane’s partner’s wife is kidnapped—and the plot just gets messier. Nolan’s ex-wife states that Messane was a sex addict. A female associate says Nolan was a devotee of violent sex games. Darker still are intimations that an “Angel of Death” may be behind both Messane’s murder and the abduction of his partner’s wife. Were Poppy’s words to her prescient, when he said, “Ángel de la Muerte is here. The angel of death.” Although Gonzales said Poppy’s words weren’t literal, as the case unfolds, Nolan wonders. Poppy also said Por favor cuidadmente (stay safe), a command that’s easier said than done.

You won’t be able to put City of Secrets down. And there’s time before the fifth Detective Margaret Nolan book drops to read the initial three mysteries in the series.

City of Secrets follows Detective Nolan as she has another case to solve. This is a police investigative thriller that’s fast paced and easy to follow. I didn’t have any trouble following what was going on even though it’s the first book in the series I’ve read.

Maggie Nolan is relatable and unstoppable. She’s the perfect point of view. She’s not perfect, but she’s a force to be reckoned with. She and her partner work to find out about three seemingly unrelated crimes.

It’s probably obvious how I feel about the main character. I’ll read more books in this series because I like her so much. I’m not sure I’d remember the book otherwise though. It flowed well, but nothing about the plot stands out.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

I have read and enjoyed this entire series, and this was another great entry. I would say these need to be read in order, mainly because the relationships between the characters have grown and developed since Book 1. Each book, including this one, has had an intricate and complex crime plot with lots of action (but not too much gore). My one complaint/concern would be that this book was written in third person close perspective, with the character in focus changing randomly in each chapter. There were a couple that for whatever reason it took me a minute to remember who that person was. It was good to get those clues and information, but it made it harder to get to know those characters very much. If you enjoy crime novels, I think you would enjoy this series and this book.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This author never disappoints, and this read was really thrilling. Full of twists and turns, and action all the way through, would highly recommend.

Enjoyed this one very much, another great suspense thriller from author P.J. Tracy. Never disappoints, highly recommend!

This is book four of the Detective Margaret Nolan series, and it keeps getting better and better. In this installment, Detective Margaret Nolan is investigating a fatal car jacking that ends up being so much more and connects to other cases.

As the bodies pile up, this gripping mystery gets even more intriguing. Dangerous forces are coming from different sides as this intricate storyline is woven together. The plot is well paced, the characters are great, and the overall story is vastly entertaining. If you enjoy detective fiction, then this series is a must-read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I've read in this series, but I've added this author as a backlist challenge because I enjoyed City of Secrets so much.

Detective Maggie Nolen is such a complex character, making this twisted complex plot all the more interesting to work through as she and her partner Al work to solve this complicated case.

There’s a little bit of romance and the secondary characters add a significant contribution to the storyline.

Suspenseful and gripping, I’ll be looking forward to reading more from P.J. Tracy.

My thanks to St. Martins Press for this gifted DRC

City of Secrets is a thrilling addition to the Detective Margaret Nolan series. There are multiple layers to the mystery that kept me engaged in the story.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Excellent police procedural featuring Detective Nolan in this forth in a series novel. The bad guys are truly evil and the good cops win the day. They cover cases that bewildered them such as the kidnapping with no ransom demand, the murder of a wealthy man in the worst part of town and killing just for killings sake. Sort of a commentary on the modern day existence. As they piece things together and the up loose ends , Tracy finds time to move their personal life to a new level. Great characters and an excellent read.
I received this book from Netgalley and wish to thank them, the author and publisher for making it available.

Margaret Nolan is faced with the murder of a man and woman in a pool. They find out woman is married to another man.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is my unbiased review of an advanced reader copy of City of Secrets by P.J. Tracy thanks to Negalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this ARC

In City of Secrets Detective Margaret Nolan is back with another LA based mystery thriller. This time something so simple as a homicide for a founder of a pet food company becomes so much more than it seems. As Nolan and her partner investigate and delve deeper into the carjacking and homicide more secrets become exposed and unraveled leaving the team to question everything.

City of Secrets doesn't just focus on the crime but all parties involved and some characters that while only side characters the reader can't help but appreciate and become fond of. I was especially drawn to the side story involving Sam and Melodie considering the reader gets to see how a recovering addict and a veteran dealing with PTSD can come together to learn what it is to love and survive.

The story while primarily focused on the main crime of the founder of Peppy Pets being murdered in a staged car jacking did have other pieces of crime to be solved.

All together it was an enjoyable read with lovable and relatable characters. The detectives and their team are bright and funny and share some great moments of banter and wit. While I have not read the prior books in the Nolan series I would recommend reading those first. While City of Secrets could be a standalone read it would make more sense to the readers to know the characters involved beforehand. Until next time, happy reading!

A thrilling addition to the Detective Margaret Nolan series. There are multiple layers to the mystery and Tracy weaves them into a fine tapestry in her storytelling.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Oh my goodness! This was a mystery wrapped up in so much more. What starts off as a murder and then a kidnapping and they do not seem related but they have to be. So many twists and turns and red herrings that kept me guessing. I loved it! How did I miss the beginning of this series and jump in at #4. No fear, my library has the first on audio and already on my phone ready for me to listen to.

This book is rife with crime and conspiracy. While I found the beginning interesting, overall, I found the story and the characters to be a bit disjointed to me. This may be because I came in later in the series and should have started with the 1st book to get the flow of the characters and storyline.

Margaret Nolan and her partner are detectives who work very well together and have solved so many cases together. When they are called to what was set up to look like a carjacking gone wrong with a fatality they slowly start to investigate. The victim is a CEO who is very good at what he does with his career, and he is in the middle of a large company sale and a divorce. Slowly they start to investigate the death and they start asking questions then an older man who talked to the police was killed the investigation deepens. While investigating the murders there is a kidnapping of the first victim's business partner's wife and while they are trying to figure out how they are all connected they realize that everything is not as it seems and they can find who is really behind it all.
This was my first book by the author but knowing now that it is part of a series I am going to pick up the beginning of the series. Even without the knowledge in the first three books I was able to follow along easily so this one could be read as a standalone. I enjoyed this one immensely and I loved the mystery and how everything was connected in the end! If you love a good mystery with a splash of police work mixed in and a forbidden romance then this should be your next read!
Thank you Minotaur Books and Netgalley for the exciting opportunity to read and review this one!

This is 4th in a mystery series starring LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan. Fellow leads are damaged veteran Sam Easton; his close friend, musician Melody Traeger; and Margaret's wealthy colleague Remy Beaudreau.

After wealthy sex addict Bruce Messane is called to meet psychopathic Mimi, Maggie is called to the scene of his body in a car.

A day later, Messane's old partner's wife is abducted and the husband pressured to comply with the kidnappers' demands. The victims are old family friends of Sam's, pulling him into the investigation.

As this evolves, Remy's drug trade informant talks of an 'angel of death'. Turns out she's daughter of 'the most powerful underworld figure' in Europe.

As expected, Maggie et al pull all these threads together and find the answers they seek in a series that's always worth reading.

i've enjoyed this series but for me, this was my least favorite.

the pacing was not quite a good, the plot a little implausible and the romantic storylines a bit heavy handed.

that said, it was still a decent read.

Book four in the series and I was thrilled to get my hands on the newest installment! This one was entertaining and suspenseful from the beginning. There were so many moving pieces to this one and it came together brilliantly. I highly enjoyed this installment and look forward to more in the series!

This is book four of the Detective Margaret Nolan series. It reads as a standalone very well. Mags is a detective for the LAPD. Murder abounds in this tale. Are they connected? A crime thriller worth enjoying. Kidnapping and relationships are included in this journey.

I have been reading P.J. Tracey since the very first Monkeewrench book came out. The author and I have both been through a lot since then! One thing that hasn’t changed is how much I enjoy her books!

City of Secrets continues the story of Detective Margaret Nolan and her group of friends and colleagues in and out of the LAPD. One of the similarities to the Monkeewrench books that I really enjoy is this growing group surrounding Margaret. This isn’t about a lone wolf detective, but about a team effort. I especially like that the team is made up of competent and good people who want justice for the victims.
In this book, justice is for a wealthy pet food businessman, who is killed in what looks like a car-jacking. But then his wife and partner are kidnapped. Margaret, her partner Al, and the team around them keep digging and finding more and more dirty secrets. “Whodunit” is well disguised, although the clues are all there for the reader.

The book is written in multiple points of view, which is ultimately a good thing. However, at the beginning it takes a while to get used to the different voices and the different perspectives. The changing points of view help drive the story and the development of the characters, but be prepared if you are just starting the series!

City of Secrets is another great entry into the Margarat Nolan series, and I can’t wait for installment #5!