Dangerous Ends

Segura’s flawed third Pete Fernandez mystery (after 2016’s Down the Darkest Street) finds the Miami, Fla., PI, who’s been doing routine investigative work, drawn into a re-examination of the notorious Gaspar Verela case. Verela, a former Miami narcotics officer, was convicted of the slashing murder of his wife, but has maintained his innocence, despite losing multiple appeal efforts. Verela’s daughter wants Kathy Bentley, a friend of Pete’s who’s been a newspaper columnist, to write a book that will help prove his innocence. When Pete and Kathy, aided by retired FBI agent Robert Harras, uncover connections to a deadly pro-Castro street gang, they start receiving warnings to back off, which become more and more forceful. Meanwhile, a link emerges to the murder of Pete’s grandfather, Diego Fernandez, in 1959 Cuba. A traditional tarnished-knight detective, Pete takes a beating but perseveres even when everyone from Verela to his partners seem to be against him, in a case with dark, unexpected twists—and unlikely coincidences. [em]Agent: Dara Hyde, Hill Nadel Literary Agency. (Apr.) [/em]