City of Secrets (Detective Margaret Nolan #4) by P. J. Tracy
Narrated by Abby Craden
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Mystery & Thrillers
Published: August 20, 2024

City of Secrets is the 4th book in the Detective Margaret Nolan series by P. J. Tracy. This book can be enjoyed as a standalone mystery or as part of the series.

This book is filled with fascinating characters and a brilliantly plotted storyline. This was fast paced with amazing twists! I thought it was amazing!!!

I loved the narration by Abby Craden. She did an amazing job bringing this story to life!

I can’t wait for the next book to be released! I love this series!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

What starts off as a murder becomes a complex scheme that was a such a ride to listen to. I haven’t read the previous books and felt like this book can be read as a stand alone. While I’m sure I’m missing some character growth I still enjoyed this police procedural book. It was jam packed with some many threads I had fun connecting them all together. That ending is sweet and I can’t wait to see what happens next with Nolan.

This is the 4th book that focuses on Detective Margaret Nolan - LAPD Homicide. Over the last 4 books, we have also gotten to know several secondary characters who have been nicely developed and fleshed out and we get to see them in this book as well -Sam Easton and Melody, Remy Beaudreau, and her partner Al - to name a few.

This book starts off with an unusual murder, then we add a kidnapping, then another....At the same time, we are also getting additional storylines from different situations occurring concurrently - a case that Detective Remy Beaudreau is trying to close, and then we are introduced to and following a new character, an attorney involved in the current troubled sale of Peppy Pets.

P.J. Tracy (Ms. Lambrecht) has the ability to take the different ropes of each separate storyline and expertly weave them together so that the reader (and by reader, I mean me) can start putting things together at the same time that the case is unfolding. In the past, we were also following along as Detective Nolan dealt with her burgeoning relationship with Remy. That is also evident here, but it is more in the background and actually feels more stable. Getting Remy's side makes things infinitely more serious. I can't remember if we had that in prior books, but I liked it.

This entire case is strange and I will be the first one to say that I did not figure it out beforehand. There are some surprising twists and turns, and a VERY unexpected twist at the very end. Not only did that come out of the blue for me, I'm not sure how I felt about it. I will say this though, ANY time a book can surprise me, I am thrilled. That does not happen as much as I wish it did, so when it does happen, it is definitely a win.

Can this be read as a stand alone? Yes, I think so. There really isn't any part of the history that is not given to the reader, and it is easy enough to follow along with the information in the way it is parsed out. The ending of this book does tie off the story line of the current case, but it leaves some things in Detective Nolan's personal life open ended and leaves the possibility of a next book in the series.

I listened to this as an audio ARC and felt like Abby Craden did a fine job with the narration. She has narrated each of the books in this series and has been a consistent narrator since its inception.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to and review this audio ARC. The opinions above are mine and mine alone.

The case of who killed Bruce Messane & kidnapped the Bechtolds made for a great next book in this series. I enjoy Margaret Nolan as a character & thought this story was engaging and interesting. It’s nice seeing Maggie happy with Remy and exploring their relationship despite being coworkers. My sense of justice was a bit affronted at the end of the novel but it worked for the characters involved. I will definitely be reading the next book in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for a copy of this audiobook.

Los Angeles Police Detective Margaret Nolan has been called to a murder. At first it looks like a car jacking. But the more she investigates, the more disturbing this case becomes.

This is part of a series. I have only read one in this series, Desolation Canyon. I enjoyed this one more! I enjoyed the hunt for the killer on this one. Now, like all P.J. Tracy books, they tend to be a bit slow. It is police procedure. But, this one kept me intrigued all the way through. There is a murder, kidnapping, embezzlement…it’s all in here!

I really enjoyed the narrator, Abby Craden. She made this story move so smoothly!

Need a good police procedural tale…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest opinion.

Fast paced, easy to read police thriller. Multilayered plot with a strong female lead. This is the fourth book in the series and can be read as a standalone but it’s better to read from the beginning to get all the characters. Audio was narrated by Abby Craden, and she did a fantastic job with the characters.

I jumped into this series with this book after reading that it could be read as a standalone and I don't full agree. Yes, the mystery itself does not connect to others. But the way that characters are just thrown at you, and at the beginning in particular it jumps around POVs so much, it's very hard to keep track or understand how it all connects. Also the MC goes by a ton of different names which is very confusing especially when listening. Overall, the story was interesting, but it didn't captivate me. I wanted answers, but in a very light way, I wasn't hooked or dying to keep reading. I almost DNF at about 50%, but kept going because I was curious about the ending.

City of Secrets is an intriguing police procedural mystery with just enough suspense and twists to keep me turning pages as quickly as I could. With a large amount of interesting and engaging characters, it took a few chapters to figure out how they all fit together, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed this read. This was the first book I’ve read in the series, but I didn’t feel like missing the first three caused any gaps or holes from missing backstory. I’m definitely going back to read the first three now!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. This is narrated by Abby Craden who does a great job!

The CEO of a pet food company is shot in his car in a rough area of LA. His company was in the process of a buyout and by the way, he is a sex addict. Detective Margaret Nolan and her partner, Sam Easton, delve into a series of interconnected crimes that expose the dark underbelly of the city.

Despite being book 4 in the series, you can read it as a standalone. I found this to be a fast paced mystery with a cast of characters. If you are a fan of police procedural or crime thrillers, this is worth a read!

This is the fourth book in the series, read the first three otherwise you may be confused! I listened to the audiobooks and the narrator is perfect for this book/series. I love all the intertwining mysteries and the way the author brings all the characters together by the end. Fun ride that I highly recommend!

Unfortunately this was a miss for me, way too many characters introduced with no backstory. Jumping back and forth. It was very hard to keep up and a very slow start. It's a personal preference but it just wasn't for me.

Gritty procedural police mystery. Mixed in personal life’s of all involved. Good pace got a little lost when it got full paced but not a big deal. Loved the listen, thanks NetGalley

This fourth outing in Tracy's Detective Margaret Nolan series based in Los Angeles is solid and satisfying. Sam is back, Nolan lets down some of her defenses, and a big case is solved. It starts with the discovery of a body in a high-end automobile in Culver City. No valuables or ID and seemingly no tie to gangs. Then the detectives learned the victim was about to sell his company. I enjoyed this mystery and feel that the author is starting to find her stride in this series written without her late mother, PJ. It lacks the character humor of the Minneapolis-based Monkeewrench books they co-wrote, but it works as its own more serious series. I will continue to listen to the books in the series and look forward to the next one.
My thanks to the author, publisher, producer, and #NetGalley for access to the audiobook for review purposes.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an ALC of this book. This is the 4th in the Maggie Nolan series. Maggie and her partner, Al, start digging and things are not what they seem. Turns out the dead guy’s company is up for sale for $100 million dollars. Maggie’s boyfriend, Remy, is also a detective and he just closed a case with links to a drug cartel. Of course, their two cases collide. This is a quick read at just over 7 hours. I do think you need to read the other three, just so you get an idea of the dynamics between all the characters. Put this in your TBR pile. Thank me later

Loved this book! The narrator was great. The characters in this story were well devel0pled. The suspense was good. On the eve of a very big business deal, a man goes to meet his ex one last time. He ends up dead. Margaret Nolan is on the case! Another good story with these characters. Lots of twists and def held my attention.