Detective Nolan and the gang are back in the second installment of the Detective Margaret Nolan Series and I am here for it! It’s no secret that I enjoy solid crime and police procedural books the best. Especially when I don’t know what I feel like reading, they can always pull me out of a reading funk. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series earlier this year and I was stoked to get an advanced copy of book 2.
Deep into the Dark | REVIEW
Still reeling from her brother’s death in Afghanistan and her own shooting in the line of duty, Margaret Nolan (Maggie) is tackling a bit of PTSD. During one of her rare adventures out with her fellow colleague, they stumble upon the body of a wealthy lawyer at one of LAs most exclusive hotels. As they begin to investigate, their path will lead deep into the Russian mafia and into a religious cult.
At the same time Sam Easton’s makes a return as well brought into the mix by his good friend Lenny. Lenny being the good Samaritan he is, attempts to help a young woman and her child escape from a religious cult. But Father Paul, the cult’s leader doesn’t let his members just leave and the mother and her child may be in more danger than Lenny originally thought.
As Sam and Maggie’s investigations slowly overlap, all of our characters face dangerous obstacles and must face their own personal demons.
If I’m being honest, I’m not sure why this is the Detective Margaret Nolan series. In both the first book and this one we great such a clear picture into the character of Sam Easton, and he plays such a pivotal role in both books. That doesn’t really have anything to do with the books themselves, more just a thought I can’t stop trying to rationalize.
I will say that Tracy has continued to build upon the complexities of our main characters. We even get deeper into the background and lives of some of our secondary characters. While I read these for the action and crime, these are actually great stories for character driven readers. The effort given to crafting such real characters really makes these stand out.
This book has a little something for everyone. Fabulous and well developed characters, a solid mystery, a leap into the crime bosses of LA, a cult, and page turning action. While it’s not necessary to read the first book, I do think it adds to the story simply for the character backgrounds. But the two books really have nothing in common other than the characters themselves and being great stories. Highly recommend picking up for my crime reading lovers!
AMAZON | GOODREADS |★★★★
Desolation Canyon comes out January 18, 2022.  Huge thank you to Minotaur Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.  If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books.
Such a difficult subject to write about. I’d be interested in reading this book.
I think you’d like these. I have a physical copy of the first book you can borrow!