This was a compelling story that held my interest until the end. The characters were well developed. I have read the previous books with these characters but I feel this could be a stand alone. The reason I gave four stars instead of five was I thought the ending was a little rushed. I would have liked a little more.

Every big city in America has its share of serious crime... but in a sprawling megalopolis like Los Angeles, there’s your run-of-the-mill crime, and then there’s your okay-that-went-crazy-really-effing-fast crime.

In the latest entry in P. J. Tracy’s Detective Margaret Nolan series, City of Secrets, Maggie—along with her stalwart partner, Al Crawford—are definitely ankle-boots-and-loafers-deep in the latter.


After arriving on the scene of what—at first glance—almost certainly appears to be “just” another fatal car-jacking, Maggie and Al soon realize that the dead guy in the fancy car was actually the owner of a premium pet-food company worth millions... which he just so happened to be in the process of selling, for a huge profit. And that immediately puts a whole different spin on things.

Sure, in the part of town where things went down—one of those areas someone super-wealthy only goes with the idea of scoring something illegal, in mind—being rich and stupid go hand-in-hand. But the detectives know that anyone with that kind of money almost always has other people on the payroll to take care of such seediness for them.

Then, when the wife of the victim’s business partner is kidnapped the very next day—in broad daylight, from right off her luxuriously-manicured street—well... Maggie and Al’s joint Spidey senses tell them something else is most definitely going on.

But, the more leads they unearth and trails they follow, the bigger—and weirder—it all gets.

From drugs, sex, and gang activity, to shady big business dealings, to hints of a mythical “Angel of Death”, Maggie and Al have their hands full, trying to bring a tiny bit of justice in the midst of so much chaos in the City of Angels.


Besides Maggie and Al, Tracy once again brings back several supporting characters, who serve to flesh out both their work and personal lives.

In particular, Maggie’s on-the-DL relationship with fellow detective Remy Beaudreau is heating up... and putting them in ever more danger of being found out. Also back is Sam Easton, a wounded veteran suffering from PTSD, who once again lends the detectives his expertise and insight.

But by far the biggest supporting star in City of Secrets is the location, itself... L.A., an almost-unbelievably vast sprawl of desert, ocean, valleys, canyons, mountains, and endless freeways... a place where the “dens of iniquity” are as often to be found in the glitziest and costliest of mega-mansions, as in the downtrodden squalor of forgotten neighborhoods. (If you want an honest travelogue of present-day L.A., this book wouldn’t be a bad place to start.)

I really enjoyed City of Secrets. P. J. Tracy has gotten into a good groove with Maggie Nolan, et al, with each outing building on the previous books—but always fine to read as standalone works, as well.

If you’re a fan of police procedurals and modern police detective stories—and really enjoy well-done “local color”—this should find a place on your short list.

City of Secrets marks the fourth book in the Detective Margaret Nolan series. As is often the case with a series, it would have been beneficial to have read the earlier books, as there were numerous characters, making it a bit challenging to grasp their relationships and roles. However, after navigating through the first couple of chapters, the pace picked up and I found myself immersed in the storyline.

Although I wouldn’t classify police procedurals as one of my top genres, this book was quite enjoyable. Readers who favor this type of novel will want to check it out, as it is filled with unexpected twists and a diverse cast of characters that kept me on my toes.

My thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for a copy of the ebook.

City of Secrets has plenty of great primary as well as secondary characters.

Detective Margaret Nolan and her partner, Detective Al Crawford, are brought into the very odd death of Bruce Messane, a man from the upscale, gated community of Malibu, who was murdered while loitering in his car in one of the worse gang neighborhoods in LA.  Bruce and his vehicle are clearly out of place in this neighborhood.  What brought him out to the neighborhood so late at night?   And it can't be a coincidence that on the Eve where his organic pet food company, Peppy Pets, is up for sale to a major competitor, his former partner, Veterinarian Dr. Rome Bechtold's wife has been kidnapped.  Is someone desperately trying to stop this merger or is something more sinister happening?

Maggie's friend Sam Easton  has been invited to spend an afternoon with the SWAT team.  He would love to make use of his military training and help the people of LA.  He is trying to determine if his PTSD will allow him to be around the possible volatile situations without him being triggered

On a personal note, Maggie has started dating Remy Beaudreau who is also a Detective in her Department.   They both know that this kind of fraternization is frowned upon and if Captain Mendoza finds out about them, their jobs could be at risk.  They are trying to keep their relationship on the down low for now so no one suspects but it is more and more apparent, that Maggie and Remy are the worst kept secret in the Department. I guess it is hard to fool a room full of trained Detectives.  Maggie is quickly trying to decide if the growing feelings she has for Remy is worth more than the job she has always wanted in Homicide.

THOUGHTS:
This is the fourth book in the series but I liked that I didn't feel left behind for not knowing the prior stories or connections between characters.  I liked that no matter how many other characters were presented, Maggie still felt like the main character of the series and I liked her.

There were also a LOT of POV changing in this story. There was Maggie, Remy, one of the other officers, who all took us through the investigation, while one of the witness, an officer from Bruce's company, someone from the merging company and Dr. Bechtold (the Vet) gave us all the necessary insider information on the merger. Sometimes I feel that too many POVs can leave the story feeling very jerky. In this story, I thought it was handled very well and the change of character was necessary to build this investigation to its final solution.

I also like that the author was setting Remy up to be the one to switch jobs and that his feelings for Maggie were stronger than his desire to stay in Homicide.  It was almost a non-issue to him and didn't require any forced "it's me or your job" falling out.  I think we all agree that it shouldn't be the woman in every relationship that has to sacrifice careers for romance.  

I would enjoy reading more of this series and seeing how things work out with Det. Maggie Nolan and her work family.

I’ve only read one other in the series and it took me a little bit to get a feel for everyone, without proper introduction. But I’m getting to know them and I’m more invested now.

There’s a lot of people and plots that come together. The different narratives can be a little bit much but the mystery itself is fun to untangle.

I don’t know if I’ll get around to reading the first two I skipped any time soon but I think I’ll keep going from here on out.

CITY OF SECRETS by P.J. TRACY

When I received the fourth book in the series, the premise sounded so interesting that I went back and read the first three books before I read this one.

The series is about Detective Margaret Nolan who works in Los Angeles.

I really enjoyed this series and I will definitely read anything that follows.

It is nice to see how the characters developed overtime. This is a really good series.

Thank you @minotaur_books and @pjtracyauthor for the gifted copy

Detective story featuring a strong female protagonist. Plot was good but what I liked best was that there was more character development than in some police procedurals. This is number 4 in a series but it worked fine for me as a standalone.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

Bruce Messane, the co-founder of Peppy Pets. He misses the biggest business meeting of his life, his sit-down with the food mogul who wants to buy the high-end dog food company. Why did he miss it? He is dead in Culver City, that’s why. The vanishing of the deal has dire consequences for chief financial officer Cynthia Jackson, one of Messane’s many ex-lovers, who owns 15% of Peppy Pets, and for retired veterinarian Rome Bechtold, Messane’s former partner, who may have inherited 70% Messane owned. This is bad business for Bechtold who has to deal with, because less than 24 hours later, his wife, Nicole, is kidnapped by someone who doesn’t demand any money. Learning of the abduction despite the kidnappers’ threats to harm Nicole if her husband doesn’t keep quiet, LAPD Detective Maggie Nolan can’t believe the two crimes aren’t connected. Her attention is demanded by a crop of complications. Despite Cynthia’s insistence that Messane would never steal from his own company, it looks like he’s been doing exactly that. The notorious Los Zetas mob seems to be involved as well.

Tracy writes a fast and entertaining novel. I have enjoyed Detective Nolan’s work. She is an interesting character. I enjoyed watching her work. It’s excellent crime fiction.

I have been a fan of the writing team of P. J. Tracy and especially their Monkeewrench series. In the latest foray into crime writing the story walks, trots, runs all over the place and back again. There is a lot of activity, a bunch of characters, and I kept wondering “Which way did they go George?”. Are we dealing with a crime, or a romance, or a personal relationship, maybe a distant memory and what is the importance of each or any?!

Despite being perplexed and confused and turned around from one chapter to the next I enjoyed the book. Lambrecht has the magic to draw you in and kept me turning the pages trying to figure out how everything is going to come together. Her writing is solid, dialog is believable and her descriptions are great. I will definitely be on the lookout for the next Detective Margaret Nolan installment where “Justice isn’t always black-and-white”. My thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a copy.

City of Secrets indeed! Drugs, murder, kidnapping. This book has them all. They are all tied together which doesn’t become clear until close to the end of the case and then it becomes clear that they are all tied together. Great read!

I received an ARC of this book. I really enjoyed this suspenseful mystery. It kept me guessing until the end. If you enjoy detective mysteries, you will like this one.

City of Secrets continues the awesome detective work of Maggie Nolan and crew. Although it had been awhile since I last visited these characters, I quickly caught up in their lives. Being a fly on the wall as they unravel this complex, multi layered crime spree was fascinating. Sometimes it was hard to keep everyone straight but every chapter was hard to put down. There are many twists and surprises near the end so even when you think you have it all figured out- there is more! Definitely a series that I will always want to read.

This book is the fourth in the Detective Margaret Nolan Mystery series and it is a great read for fans of police procedurals. At just about 300 pages you won't want to stop reading until the end and it is just the right length to deliver a great story and keep your attention until the very end. If you haven't started the series yet, what are you waiting for? PJ Tracy does not miss.

City of Secrets is the 4th book in the series that follows LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan. When the LAPD is called to an apparent car-jacking scene, it seems pretty cut and dry. But then the victim turns out to be the CEO of a pet food company that is trying to be sold for millions…and then the next day a former partner of the murder victim is kidnapped. Detective Nolan and her partner, along with the rest of the LAPD, race against the clock to connect the dots of what is going on with this pet food company that lead to murders and kidnapping.

I have enjoyed all the books so far in P.J. Tracy’s Detective Nolan series. I enjoy all the characters and how the stories are intricately woven together.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

I've been reading PJ Tracy for 20 years and still really enjoy her. It makes me smile with all the big, $20 words she uses sometimes, though. The plot and characters were good and engaging, and I was able to keep track of who was who and what was going on (which is often really hard for me).

This is a first time I've read this author, but it will not be my last. If you like police procedurals with a strong female lead you'll enjoy this book. Maggie and her partner Al are tasked with finding the killer of what looks like a car-jacking, but it turns into much more. The author weaves multiple plots into an compelling novel with interesting and relatable characters.

You can read this as a standalone, like I did, but I would encourage you to start at the beginning. I'll now be reading the previous books in the series even though the author does provide background to get readers up to date.

I received this advance review copy from NetGalley & the publisher for my honest review.

Tracy is a new to me author and I will definitely check out more books in this series!
I thought this was a well written police procedural full of action and suspense. I really liked Margaret and her love interest.
I think enough background was given for this to be a standalone. From a relationship standpoint, this would be best read in order
I had an ARC of this book but ended up listening to the audiobook and I really enjoyed the narrator.

Gripping fourth installment in the Detective Margaret Nolan series with a head-scratching mystery that just keeps the bodies piling up. I loved the great pacing, the intricate plot, and the satisfying character arc. Awesome series for lovers of crime drama!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

City of Secrets certainly lives up to the title! This book kept me guessing all the way through and although there are a lot of characters to remember, PJ does a great job tying them all into a great conclusion to the book. I will definitely look forward to what PJ writes next. I would definitely recommend giving this book a try!

Real Rating: 3.75* of five

Starting a series with book four is never ideal. I felt no investment in the Maggie/Remy subplot, but really didn't expect to once I twigged that the series was multiple books along.

That said, the dynamic between Maggie Nolan and Al Crawford, her policework partner, was an effortless joining of process. In large part that's because the pseudonymous Tracy partners really involve us in the way the investigation goes. This book, and I presume the entire series (as series authors seldom change tones radically this early in one), exemplifies the charms of the police procedural...that sense of being in on the action, a fly on the wall.

That's a wonderful way to build a series IMO because it gives the plotting a major through line without the need, at times, to contrive things just to keep up the pace. Of course the police work is a reductive fantasy version of the real thing, granted – stipulated – understood but it's the mystery reader's vision of it from countless other iterations, so it works. It also means one knows, if the series mystery world is not a new and fresh experience, that ornamental plot devices stand out. There are "dark sexual secrets' in the murder victim's life. Cheap, brummagem time-waster from the get-go, and, with Margaret's dull "romance" as the other lusterless sex distraction, means I spent a lot of time rolling my eyes.

The existence of a well-stocked larder of interesting side-characters, however, both redeemed and further irked me. I'm quite sure they've been here before, but I haven't. I'm on the fence about picking the series up but if I do, the first trip will be back to #1 before anything. I really want the answer to one burning question: <I>Why does Ike like licorice?</I>

Note for animal lovers: despite some suspense on the matter, no abuse or harm occurs and past wrongs are righted.