By Any Means

At the outset of Culver’s intricately plotted third procedural featuring Det. Sgt. Ash Rashid (after 2013’s The Outsider), Ash, who’s currently serving on the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department community-relations team, comes across what appears to be a single car accident on his way home. He quickly discovers that the driver and passenger have been murdered while a passing Good Samaritan has been kidnapped. The passenger turns out to be the daughter of local drug lord Konstantin Bukoholov, with whom Ash has had past dealings. Unfortunately, FBI agents have discovered this connection and show surveillance footage of Ash and Konstantin to Ash’s superiors. A tip from Konstantin, though, leads Ash to the Dandelion Inn, a suburban drug trafficking and sex trade site. Ash makes some questionable decisions, preferring to fight for innocents rather than adhere strictly to the law. Readers will look forward to seeing more of the complex Ash, an observant Muslim who maintains a fingernail grip on sobriety (May)