Mari E–whose full name isn’t disclosed at first—is barely into her latest investigation when threatening notes turn up in her mailbox. She’s apparently too close to unmasking whomever is blackmailing an appellate judge with reputed evidence of murder. So she brings in another PI for “backup”—Derek Abernathy, whom she meets for the first time. It turns out the case he’s working on has ties to hers. He’s looking into a couple of journalist co-workers, one who’s been missing for a month and the other dead by strangulation. The two had been investigating the homicide of French art student Sophie Michaud, whose case has connections to Mari’s judge client. It only gets more complicated from there, as questions surround Sophie’s autopsy, the journalists’ unpublished articles, and secret histories that the PIs dredge up. All the while, a mysterious dark gray van incessantly shadows Mari, and someone breaks into her house. Mari and Derek, working with local police and Mari’s resourceful Tibetan friend Duga, scramble to close the case before another body turns up. Towles (Ninety-Five, 2021, etc.) packs a hefty plot into this entertaining book. It’s sometimes tongue-in-cheek; the PIs solidify their partnership by checking each other out through surveillance or rooting through garbage. The mystery nevertheless enthralls, and though copious dialogue scenes dive deep into case particulars and evolving theories, the story is never confusing. The cast is equally riveting; the private eyes work alongside Detective Ivan Dent, who is Mari’s ex-lover and had fired Derek from his LAPD job. Mari herself is a delightful enigma, as her former career in the CIA and her inexplicably missing father both have links to the blackmail/murder investigation. The story offers myriad answers by the end, but all the unresolved bits practically demand a sequel.