After surviving a deadly prison break, ex-Detroit cop Kurt Argento is ready for some quiet. Still working through his grief over the passing of his wife, Argento finds himself house-sitting for a friend with his loyal companion, Hudson, a Chow Chow-Shepard mix. It's a simple life, picking up odd jobs here and there, but it's one that Argento is content to live. Then Kristin Reed shows up with her young son, Ethan, and begs Argento to help find her missing husband.

Argento tells her he'd just be in the way. He's no investigator, not anymore. He's a handyman who fixes fences. But he's not one to ignore his gut feeling when something is wrong. After Kristin and her son disappear as well, Argento starts to notice that Fenton, Arizona is more than meets the eye. First there's the large, overly equipped public safety team complete with specialized tactics and sophisticated weaponry. Then there's the unusual financial boosting of failing small businesses by the U.S. government. And finally, there's a man with no name who seems to have an unprecedented control over the town. Argento finds himself unraveling not just the truth behind the disappearance of a family, but a conspiracy that's taken a whole town to cover up.

But Fenton is going to push him further than he’s ever had to go. And along the way, he may just lose a part of himself. Because justice isn't as black and white as Argento would like to believe.

Published
April 8, 2025
Where to find this book
External links open a book search at the selected retailer. Availability may vary.

Additional book details

Author

Adam Plantinga

Adam Plantinga holds a B.A. in English with a second major in Criminology/Law Studies from Marquette University. He has written thirteen nonfiction articles on various aspects of police work for the literary magazine The Cresset. His first book, 400 Things Cops Know, was nominated for an Agatha Award and won the 2015 Silver Falchion award for best nonfiction crime reference. It was hailed as “truly excellent” by author Lee Child and deemed “the new Bible for crime writers” by The Wall Street Journal. In the interests of full disclosure, the book was also described by one Amazon reviewer as “Kind of interesting but maybe a little overpriced.”…