Red Man Down

Sarah Burke and her fellow officers look into an unusual police shooting in Gunn’s diverting fifth procedural featuring the Tucson, Ariz., homicide detective (after 2012’s The Magic Line). In a confrontation with a suspect, rookie cop Dan Spurlock kills a man taking wire from a power box who was acting as if he wanted to be shot. The thief turns out to be Ed Lacey, a former police sergeant who used to be the feared and respected training officer known as the Red Man. Burke discovers that one of Lacey’s uncles, Frank Martin, killed himself after being accused of embezzling funds from Old Pueblo Credit Union. Lacey’s ex-wife, Angela; his free-spirited mother, Luz García-Lopez; and other relatives all have their opinions, and all seem to be concealing something. A third suspicious suicide within the same family raises the stakes. The convincing interplay between Burke and her colleagues is a plus. Agent: Jane Chelius, Jane Chelius Literary Agency. (May)