The Yards

Overworked single-mother Bridget “Git” O’Rourke, one of the narrators of this well-paced crime novel from the pseudonymous Carter (All of Us), dreams of leaving the “trashy side of the tracks” of the generic Rust Belt town where she grew up. Her efforts landing a better-paying nursing job out of town and giving her eight-year-old daughter a better life have proven out of reach. On a rare night to herself, Git heads to a bar, where she leaves with a stranger, Bradley Grieg, who unbeknownst to her has a heroin habit and organized crime connections. For Grieg, their brief tryst at the motel where he’s booked a room is a distraction until morning when he plans on handing over $18,000 to the underboss of a drug and money lending racket. When Grieg is later found shot dead at the motel, police lieutenant Delia Mariola, the book’s other distinctive female character, recognizes him and suspects he may have been the victim of a pickup gone wrong. The suspense builds as the trail points in Git’s direction and the plot takes some unexpected turns. This is another impressive effort from Carter. (Sept.)