See all titles by Marcus Sakey.

Hard-nosed Iraq War veteran Jason Palmer finds his own personal Baghdad when he returns home to Chicago. Whatever peace he hoped for as a civilian is shattered the moment his brother Michael's south-side tavern is burned down and his brother's corpse is found in the ashes. Jason snaps back into the only role he knows - being a soldier - when it becomes clear that whoever murdered his brother wants to kill the only witness: Michael's nine-year-old son, Billy.

Michael had been an anti-gang community activist, but Jason can sense this killing goes beyond ordinary retaliation. Struggling but forging ahead, he assembles a squadron of people he can trust-Elena, gang intelligence officer for the police; Washington, dedicated former gangbanger who runs a halfway house; and Ronald, who understands Jason's fury.

Sakey's conspiracy and corruption scenarios twist together in startling ways in this ambitious thriller. It's fast paced from the get-go and just as good as Sakey's stellar debut, The Blade Itself.

“MARCUS SAKEY IS EXACTLY THE ELECTRIC JOLT CRIME FICTION NEEDS.”—DENNIS LEHANE

Jason Palmer loved being a soldier. But after returning from Iraq with an “other than honorable” discharge, he’s finding that rebuilding his life is his toughest battle yet.

“FAST AND FURIOUS.”—CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

Elena Cruz is the first woman to make Chicago’s prestigious Gang Intelligence Unit.  A fearless cop, she’s ready for any challenge…until Jason Palmer’s brother, a prominent community activist on the South Side, is murdered—in front of his son.

“SAKEY IS A PRODIGIOUS TALENT.”—LAURA LIPPMAN

Now Jason and Elena are caught in a conspiracy stretching from the darkest alleys of the ghetto to the manicured lawns of the city’s power brokers. In a world where corruption and violence are simply the cost of doing business, the two of them are all that stand between an innocent child—and the killers that hunt him.  

“NOTHING SHORT OF BRILLIANT…AS MUCH A WORK OF LITERARY FICTION AS CRIME FICTION.” — CHICAGO TRIBUNE