Celebrated author Carol Lea Benjamin broke bold new ground in 1996 with her award-winning fiction debut, This Dog for Hire, elevating the canine mystery novel out of the lighthearted realm of cozy and into the grittier, more emotionally substantial arena of serious crime fiction. Now, in the seventh spectacular appearance of private investigator Rachel Alexander and her pit bull partner, Dashiell -- a gripping and unforgettable tale of heroes, survivors, and those who fall between the cracks -- a shocking death is scrupulously examined in the harsh glare of a violent past.

Rachel Alexander hardly knew the dead man, NYPD Detective Timothy O'Fallon, who had a fatal "accident" while cleaning his service revolver in his Greenwich Village apartment. As a member of Rachel's 9/11 support group, O'Fallon had shared little, spoken rarely, and revealed nothing except a strong attachment to Rachel's dog, Dash. Yet for some unknown reason, in his will he named Rachel as the executor of his estate.

Accepting the unexpected responsibility with her trademark dedication, Rachel undertakes the strange, unsettling task of getting the late detective's affairs in order -- and in the process begins to piece together the sad, disparate pieces of Timothy O'Fallon's life. And with each new demon she exposes, Rachel comes to believe more and more that this fatality was no accident at all ... or even, in some dark and disturbing way, the suicide that most of his colleagues suspect.

Hidden deep in the shadows of the O'Fallon family's history is a bizarre, three-decades-old tragedy that left a legacy of violence, grief, and guilt -- and uncovering it could put Rachel's life at serious risk. But it may already be too late for her to turn away because a terrifying vengeance must be served ... and more victims will surely fall before a harrowing day of reckoning ultimately arrives.