In Wiley's strong second mystery to feature Chicago PI Joe Kozmarski (after 2007's The Last Striptease
), Joe has to contend with a client, Greg Samuelson, who unleashes a torrent of crimes. After Samuelson torches the car belonging to Eric Stone, the man having an affair with his wife, Amy, Samuelson is found severely wounded and his nun boss murdered. This is merely the first body Joe uncovers as elderly but still powerful civil rights activist William DuBuclet plies him with bribes and threats, and Stone tries to hire him to keep an eye on DuBuclet. A complex web of relationships reaches back to a crash house in the late 1960s called the Bad Kitty Lounge, where kids gathered for music, dope, and sex, until a fatal fire destroyed it. Joe, who has to figure out what family secret is worth killing for, has plenty of grit, and his style suits Chicago fine. (Mar.)
