THIS SIDE OF MIDNIGHT

A former cop channels his inner rage to solve a tough crime.

John Bekker is slowly getting his life back together. He’s traveled a long road of self-recrimination and alcoholism since his wife was raped and murdered in front of their daughter, Regan, who took years in therapy to recover. John and his sister-in-law, Janet, plan to marry, but tying up a case in Hawaii (First Light, 2014) has led him to be away for so long that she’s barely speaking to him. With Janet off for a month of special nursing training, Bekker and Regan are living in his trailer on the beach. Meanwhile, Bekker’s old friend Sheriff Jane Morgan has asked for his help on a tough case. Norman Felton, a solid citizen of nearby Midnight Island, suddenly went berserk and nearly beat a high school student to death with a baseball bat. Since both Felton and the student are in comas, Felton having been shot by the police, the only clue they have is that Felton’s teenage daughter, Amanda, is missing. Bekker's former partner, Capt. Walt Grimes, is working to get him reinstated to the police force and is willing to provide all the help he can. When Bekker discovers some partially washed-out bloodstains in Felton's house, along with a piece of an earring, they all fear that Amanda’s dead. An intruder bashes Morgan with a tree branch and Felton dies, but Bekker’s not one to give up. Following every possible clue gives him a number of leads. His intuition and his readiness to skirt the letter of the law lead to a shocking conclusion.

For all his flaws, Lamanda’s tough detective has his own moral compass, and his empathy and bulldog tenacity are as admirable as his bone-deep detective skills.