WHO ARE YOU?

One detective must find justice for a dead teenager and a murdered city council president and figure out if her new romantic interest is a psychopath.

Det. Lincoln Barnes is a good, caring detective with a great track record and a trustworthy partner in Warren Lindquist. They are assigned to investigate the violent murder of Kathryn Patterson Bagley, president of the Minneapolis City Council. The council member was jogging around Lake Harriet when someone stabbed her in her forehead and chest. Lincoln and Warren’s detective work naturally takes them to the murdered woman’s husband, Paul. Kathryn had an open relationship with Paul and was rumored to have been sleeping with Mayor Marcus Sampson, though there’s no evidence of their relationship. Her chief policy aid, Natalie Brinkman, divulges an enormous amount of information that makes both Paul and Marcus look suspicious, but Natalie has her own dark secrets and possibly her own agenda. Meanwhile, Lincoln is simultaneously investigating the murder of a transgender teen girl who was abandoned by her unaccepting parents. In her downtime, Lincoln jogs around Lake Harriet, and during one of her runs, she meets Judge Robin Gildemeister. Sparks immediately fly, and Lincoln can’t help but fall for the man. But she quickly discovers he’s also harboring secrets. As Lincoln delves deeper into the case of the dead councilwoman and the judge’s past, she finds the two may have been connected in ways she never expected. Lund has created a fantastic mystery that has thrilling plot twists and a standout cast. Lincoln, a believable, grounded detective, is easy to care about. Other characters, like Natalie and Robin, are equally layered and make fantastic counterparts to Lincoln. The first in a promising series.

An absorbing, Minneapolis-set mystery.