2025 American Fiction Award Winner Best Mystery/Suspense Novel for Crime Fiction2025 Storytrade Book Awards Finalist for Mystery: Detective/Police Procedural"Smart, tense San Francisco mystery." - Booklife Editor's Pick by Publisher's Weekly"A well-crafted detective story." - Kirkus Reviews"Well-written with a solid plot and colorful characters, this book is perfect for James Patterson and David Baldacci fans."-San Francisco Book ReviewSeamus Shea is drinking his way through a messy life. He just lost his job as a San Francisco Chronicle columnist, his wife left him eight months ago, and he's still wrestling with the tragic death of his brother, a former SFPD narcotics agent. When Seamus learns his best friend, a beloved high school teacher, has confessed to killing one of his students, Seamus must put aside personal demons and act to save his friend. Determined to find the real killer, Seamus's investigation takes him to all corners of San Francisco, where he confronts cold-hearted criminals, crooked cops, haughty philanthropists, and a high school student with a solid right cross. To succeed and uncover the truth behind the murder, Seamus will need to confront uncomfortable truths from his past, his own addiction, and even his mortality.