The Third Hell

Former LAPD detective Nino Angelo, the hero of this absorbing if downbeat police procedural from LAPD veteran Dial (Set the Night on Fire), has struggled to develop a relationship with his 12-year-old son, Matt, since a gunshot wound forced him to retire. The boy is musical, but sullen and uncommunicative, so it’s not surprising that Angelo brings him back to his mother’s a bit early one night. That’s where things go haywire, and it’s clear the next day that Matt is missing. Did he run away, or was he taken? The main action focuses on the search for Matt: what the police can do, what a distraught parent can do, and what happens when not all the officers involved are trustworthy. A hard-boiled cop who was once Angelo’s ex-wife’s lover provides some unexpected help, and an attractive detective Angelo meets has more than the case on her mind. All the characters are well-drawn and their interactions believable, but the universe they live in may be too insular for some readers. (Feb.)