THE RHYTHM OF EVIL

After a viral tweet claims an unsolved murder involved discrimination, a San Francisco cop reexamines the cold case in this thriller.

Inspector Reggie Decker’s 20-something nephew, Bobby, has some bad news. He tried reconnecting with Poppy Garcia, a cabbie who drove disabled students—like Bobby, who has cerebral palsy—to school. Sadly, someone shot and killed Poppy 13 years ago at her home. But there’s more: A recent tweet that’s catching fire accuses the San Francisco Police Department of racism, sexism, and homophobia, as Poppy was a Hispanic lesbian. Deputy Chief Matt Bristow allows Reggie a few days to look into the old case to “shut down the conspiratorialists out there.” Though the protagonist wasn’t in Homicide back then, the inspector who handled the investigation, Barry Egan, is the former partner of Reggie’s current one, Manny Morales. Unfortunately, Egan’s “sloppy” work gives credence to the tweet’s charges, as it suggests he was apathetic. He wrote off the murder as gang-related due to a quarter kilo of cocaine he found in Poppy’s bedroom, despite there being no indication she was either a dealer or a user. But certain items of Poppy’s that the first cop on the scene recalls aren’t listed in the murder book, which means Egan may have been breaking the law. Digging deeper into the case points to other people’s involvement and leads to further questions, including an inexplicably missing Facebook photograph. And one individual who doesn’t want Reggie unearthing too much is willing to kill to derail the investigation.

Koller’s procedural moves at a steady clip. This comes courtesy of Reggie’s first-person narration, which is succinct even as he describes such things as the varying steps he walks through when visiting a jail. The story methodically explores new and existing evidence while the case becomes increasingly complex, spurring a solid twist or two during the final act. Along the way, Reggie makes progress in believable ways, as he often gets assistance or direction from others, such as Morales, Bristow, and Special Agent Walt Kincaid, his friend in charge of the local FBI Drug Task Force. But Reggie, at least initially, is far from an estimable protagonist. He works the case primarily to debunk the tweet’s discrimination claims and moreover seemingly champions Morales’ notorious practice of using lead-shot-filled gloves for beating suspects. Fortunately, Reggie gradually becomes more appealing, as he shifts his determination to unmasking Poppy’s killer and, to some extent, sympathizes with the “Twitter dude.” It also helps that he’s married to Becky, a Christian elementary teacher who insists Reggie tone down his coarse language, which he mostly accomplishes. Her benevolence sparks an engaging subplot when she convinces Reggie to open their door to 8-year-old Edwin Cosgrove. He’s one of her students who temporarily stays with the Deckers—who have no children but remain hopeful—as his newly unemployed mother searches for a job. The ending satisfactorily wraps up everything, from the murder to associated crimes and subplots.

An absorbing mystery with a sleuth who’s tenacious but sometimes difficult to like.