Mercy Dogs

How can a shattered ex-cop follow the rules when he’s no longer sure of them?

For sixteen years, Ben Shepard loyally served the Long Beach Police Department. Then he took a bullet to the head, and his life was shattered. No one expects much of anything from him anymore—except his father, an old man receding into a fog of his own. And except maybe his tenant, Grace, who’s been a warm and friendly constant in his and his father’s bleak lives.

Until the day she vanishes.

After an official investigation stalls, Ben moves forward on his own. But stepping into Grace’s past—and all she was hiding—is a dangerous move for a man who can’t trust his memories from one day to the next. The deeper he gets, the more he has to question whether he’s being driven by the gut instincts of a suspicious former cop or by paranoia.

Recognizing what’s real can save Grace’s life. If only he can trust himself to do it…

Tyler Dilts received his BA in theater from Cal State Long Beach and performed in more than sixty plays before turning his focus to writing. His work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and The Best American Mystery Stories. He is also the author of the Long Beach Homicide series of detective novels: A King of Infinite Space, The Pain Scale, A Cold and Broken Hallelujah (an Amazon #1 bestseller) and, most recently, the Edgar Award–nominated Come Twilight. In 2014, he was the Writer-in-Residence at John Cabot University in Rome, and in 2015 he joined the teaching staff of the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley. He currently teaches English at his alma mater, where his specialties include creative writing, crime fiction, and literary theory. He lives with his wife in Long Beach, California. Contact Tyler at www.facebook.com/tylerdiltsbooks.