City of Secrets

Detective Maggie Nolan and colleagues have quite the adventure when the murder of a pet food CEO takes unexpected turns and multiple secrets are revealed. Bruce Messane’s miraculous turnaround of his company a couple years ago was not as miraculous or innocent as it seems. He also had a very colorful personal life. Adding to the mystery, the wife of his former business partner is kidnapped. There also appears to be a new entrant to the local illegal drug trade with a particularly potent blend of fentanyl. How this connects to Messane is initially unclear other than that his death occurred in a section of LA caught up in a turf battle.

If the case was not enough of a stressor, Maggie and Remy’s relationship is not as secret as would be preferable, and if the boss finds out, one of them will have to leave the homicide division. Remy has his own plans, which involve making his relationship with Maggie stronger. Other recurring characters are also experiencing changes. Sam has a possible new job as a SWAT consultant. Ike, computer guru whose skills trend between legal and illegal as the situation requires, has found a sugary substitute for drinking on the job.

What a thrilling read. There are lots of twists and turns. The revelation was a surprise and shock. I loved the characters. There is such a mix of personalties. It’s cleverly written. I didn’t read the first three books in the series and had no problem following the storyline. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

I love a good mystery and this one didn’t disappoint. This was not a simple murder, it became stranger and more complex. I enjoyed all the different characters and how they fit into the story. I was intrigued from the beginning and it kept my interest throughout. I Liked the ending and I’ll leave it at that so as not to spoil the ending. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to everyone.

Another good book in this series. I like how the characters have developed and their interaction. This is an entertaining detective with some violence but it is not gruesome as many are b

My mind literally spun while reading this book. I love this series and this newest book is no exception. So much happening here and I always hope for an HEA, so am still hopeful for Nolan, Remy, Sam and Melody, but there is so much evil in this world, I continue to hope, it springs eternal, right? The twists and turns, made me delay the finish of this book, unfortunately, I did finish and hope for another. This series would be great for Tv. If you love whodunnit’s, grab this one and hang on for the ride. A fantastic read.

A man has been shot in his car in a rough area of town and then his former business partner's wife is kidnapped. This is mainly Nolan and Crawford doing the investigating, but there are a wide selection of other police officers, including Remy, Nolan's love interest. I like the way the author is developing their relationship. I have slightly lost track of Sam and Melody, but if you remember them from previous instalments they are here too.

I found the plot well paced and the story as a whole a page-turner. It managed to be realistic without being unduly violent and there is a fair amount of humour too. There were a couple of plot points I might quibble about - would audits etc really have missed what was going on at the pet food company? what was with that decision taken by one of the police officers at the end? - but overall, recommended.

I haven't read any of the other books in this series, but after reading this one, I added all of them to my TBR list!

City of Secrets is a complex and suspenseful story with a colorful cast of characters. This was one of those books I was able to settle into easily with only minor disruptions (more on those in a second). The writing is descriptive and detailed, and I was completely caught up in the story.

If I were to offer one very minor, very petty criticism, it would be to mix up the characters' names a bit. I fully recognize we're pretty deep into the Nolan series and this ship has sailed. But as a reader new to the series, I kept having to stop to differentiate between Remy, Ross and Rome. Like I said, it's a petty criticism.

Overall, this book was a great mix of suspense and mystery that kept me guessing until the end. A few twists and turns I didn't expect were a pleasant surprise. And I will definitely be reading more of the Detective Margaret (never referred to as Margaret always Mags, Maggie, or Nolan) Nolan. With character notes until I figure them all out.

This fourth book in the Detective Margaret Nolan series is a real nail-biter! The story begins with the murder of a man few people would like. More crimes follow and seem to be related. Will Margaret see the pattern?

I enjoyed "City of Secrets." It was quite a page-turner, since it was well-written and most of the characters seemed like real people. There's even a very likeable, empathetic dog I'd really like to meet!

Since I was unaware that "City of Secrets" was part of a series, I hadn't known this installment was part of a quartet of Margaret Nolan stories. In my opinion, it works fine as a standalone book.

If you enjoy murder mysteries that escalate in tension and body count, I think you'll like "City of Secrets."

Los Angeles Police Detective Margaret Nolan and her partner have worked a lot of different cases, ones where things aren’t always as they appear. And it’s Nolan’s job to find the truth in the darkness around her. When they’re called to the scene of what looks like a fatal car-jacking, Nolan soon realizes her victim was a founder of a company about to sell for millions, and within a day of his death, his partner’s wife is abducted. As Nolan learns more about the victim and his life, she gets pulled into a disturbing world of sex, violence, and big business; and an even darker world, where whispers of an "Angel of Death" are beginning to surface!
Great book! I definitely enjoyed reading this one! This book had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, mystery, a bit of a who done it and some crazy twists and turns! The storyline was interesting! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's press\Minotaur books for sharing this book with me!

A terrific read! Everything a good mystery should be.. clever, consistent, engaging, believable, and fast paced… plus the guy gets the girl. Enjoyed every minute. Thanks Net Galley… I love whodunits!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I don’t read many detective novels though I love them dramatized in tv and film. There are many in the cast of characters that I could visualize the plot. I did find myself saying “Who is this?” often as it seems like 25% of the book introduced new characters one after another. The interconnections between characters is pretty dense, and I was surprised by the ending.

I appreciated that this book was classic detective novel without any gratuitous spice (romance) thrown in as side plots.

Trigger warning though for those who are especially sensitive to animal mistreatment, they may find the few references upsetting.

This was the fourth in a series starring Lt. Margaret Nolan, a homicide detective in Los Angeles. Nolan gets assigned to a supposed drive by shooting, but the victim turns out to be a wealthy and respected businessman. What was he doing in a really bad area? The story takes off from there and we see next, the wife of his ex-partner is kidnapped. Is all of this related. More kidnappings, more bodies pile up, what is going on?

The story had many twists and turns and many other areas of law enforcement were brought in before this story came to a close. I have to admit, I did not see where it was going and the ending was a bit of a surprise,

Characters from prior books in this series were also involved, mostly on the sidelines, but nice to hear from them too. I enjoyed this read as I have every novel that P. J. Tracy has published.

I want to say thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for offering me this early read.

Fast paced and intense, City of Secrets is a good book. Lots of action in a short period time with great characters. I really enjoyed the writing style. Well done.

LAPD Margaret Nolan investigates a possible drive by shooting of a prominent businessman. Soon the crime becomes more complex with the kidnapping of his business partners wife. You will be quickly pulled into the mystery and the disturbing world of violence and money. This is the fourth installment by PJ Tracy of the Detective Margaret Nolan series but easily read as a standalone book. Great characters and involved plot. Thanks to Minotaur Books and Net Galley for an opportunity to review this bookl

City of Secrets (Detective Margaret Nolan – Book 4) by PJ Tracy

304 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books
Release Date: August 20, 2024

Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Police Procedural, Kidnapping

Margaret Nolan gets a call of a dead body found in a car. The body is that of Bruce Messane, the owner of a successful petfood company, Peppy Pets. Now the other founder, Rome Bechtold’s wife, Nicole, has been kidnapped. Veteran Sam Easton is a friend of Rome’s and tries to console him. He has also worked as a consultant with Detective Nolan on past cases. He has applied for a position on S.W.A.T.

What, if any, is the connection between the murder and the kidnapping. Everyone involved with the pet food company has secrets. Money laundering, sex games, torture, drugs, etc. You name it and some is doing it. There are other cases that may or may not have connections to these crimes. The book has a steady pace, the characters are somewhat developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. This is the fourth book in the series. Although I have read previous books in the series, you could probably read this book out of order.

Book four of Tracy’s Los Angeles based, Detective Margaret Nolan crime series. I wait for these books — for me they are a perfect combination of pacing, surprises, and just the right amount of tension (i.e. not too much because I don’t enjoy being anxious, but just enough that I’m not bored reading about tea parties while someone is murdered offstage).

In this episode, what appears to be “just” another fatal car jacking, turns out to be a far more complex crime involving big business, cartels, and some pretty crazy people. I love Margaret Nolan as a detective. She has the same qualities you would appreciate in a male detective — strong, competent, honest, determined — and manages to be simultaneously female without having to introduce any “traditionally feminine” traits. No shopping scenes! No whining with girlfriends about men! No struggling with single motherhood while trying to have a career! She’s just a consummate cop who happens to be a woman. Thank goodness. She’s a great character and I’m happy to read more about her. Other strong characters populate the series — her cynical and somewhat world-weary partner Al Crawford, Sam Easton — a friend recovering from Afghanistan induced PTSD, and Remy Boudreau, fellow homicide detective and a more serious than planned lover.

One of my favorite mystery / crime writers. I really like her writing — a few quotes:

“They were victims of a rotting culture of violence — domestic terrorism, really, — that wouldn’t go away, no matter how many gangsters the LAPD locked up.”

“He was wearing a foul weather windbreaker and his frowny, pissed-off face. Maybe it was because his tiny umbrella had unicorns on it.”

“From a young age, her mother had always told her that her rare combination of strawberry-blonde hair and pale skin made her a genetic tinderbox and her temper should be managed early.”

“Consorting with evil to exterminate greater evil was an existential conflict of the job — hell, of the world — but it was getting more difficult to justify.”

“Interviewing witnesses was like slowly unwrapping a gift, hoping there was a gold nugget inside instead of a lump of coal.”

“Nolan was always amazed by the sullen indifference of criminals, like they were ordinary citizens who’d just gotten a bogus speeding ticket.”

“The job was slowly corroding him from the inside, like poison that didn’t kill you right away. So was Los Angeles. It had a shrill, dangerous hum that hadn’t existed five years ago, and it scared him.”

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

A man has been shot in his car in a rough area of town and then his former business partner's wife is kidnapped. This is mainly Nolan and Crawford doing the investigating, but there are a wide selection of other police officers, including Remy, Nolan's love interest. I like the way the author is developing their relationship. I have slightly lost track of Sam and Melody, but if you remember them from previous instalments they are here too.

I found the plot well paced and the story as a whole a page-turner. It managed to be realistic without being unduly violent and there is a fair amount of humour too. There were a couple of plot points I might quibble about - would audits etc really have missed what was going on at the pet food company? what was with that decision taken by one of the police officers at the end? - but overall, recommended.

I was invited to review this book, and while I was apprehensive as I have never read anything in this series before (this being installment four), I was pleasantly surprised at how easy this book flowed without any prior knowledge. I felt the mystery kept the reader guessing well throughout the book, and the crime element was not over the top. The storyline in this book was pretty intriguing and I appreciated the author's creativity in that regard. I also really liked the characters and how they came across as actual people, with many aspects to their respective characters. A real-life cast of characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Although written in current times it had that film noir feel to it!

This is a new author for me, which is the purpose of this type invitation. Thank you Natalie Sun at St. Martin's Publishing Group for the email inviting me to read this ARC.