This is the fourth outing in King's Penns River series, featuring Detective Ben Dougherty and a host of recurring characters. In an interview for Crime Spree magazine, King describes Penns River as a fictional version of a three city area in western Pennsylvania that King grew up in and returns to often. After a death in a casino parking lot, Dougherty is called in to investigate, and because it's a casino, the local mob connections can't be far away. There's a large cast of characters and probably the best thing to do is to start the first in the series, Worst Enemies, because there are a lot of people with continuing story lines. But I haven't read the books in consecutive order and I got by, as the backstory is brought in deftly.
One of the interesting threads in this novel features three women cops who have been brought onto the police force in Penns River by a federal decree. I appreciated that this played out as not just one story but several different stories, as the men and women all assess each other in their new relations.
I was quite impressed with the unexpected slam bang opening, although it might not have the same impact if you read about it in the intro from Goodreads and some of the reviews. So don't. just jump in.
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