Blood Truth: A Rick Cahill Novel

In Anthony Award–winner Coyle’s well-crafted fourth Rick Cahill novel (after 2016’s Dark Fissures), Rick deals with killers, corruption, and his own past. A former girlfriend of the La Jolla, Calif., PI, hires Rick to find out whether her real estate mogul husband, Jeffrey Parker, is cheating on her. Rick enlists the aid of fellow PI Moira McFarlane to help tail Parker. Rick observes not only Parker meeting a woman at the Pacific Terrace Hotel but also the same woman subsequently meeting with power broker Peter Stone and a lobbyist with links to Stone. Moira later identifies her as Sophia Domingo, a divorcée with no record of employment in recent years; the stakes rise after Rick discovers Sophia’s body and Jeffrey becomes a suspect in her murder. Meanwhile, Rick pursues new clues related to his disgraced and deceased father that lead him to investigate a 20-year-old murder. Coyle manages both stories nicely in this strong addition to this hard-boiled series. Agent: Kimberley Cameron, Kimberley Cameron & Associates. (Dec.)