Messed Up — Douglas Black

A drug deal gone bad. A partner he can't trust. And murders he can't explain. Thomas Catlin's job as a detective in Missoula, Montana, seems to be going from bad to worse. Teamed with lowlife detective William Jones, a guy he hardly knows and barely tolerates, everything goes to hell when a drug bust Jones set up goes bad. Suspecting Jones' sister Mary, Catlin finds himself slipping down a rabbit hole of intrigue and murder when Mary's husband turns up dead the next morning -- not long after Mary's first love arrived in town after a stint in the marines. Problem is, when the clues seem this easy, when the perp seems this clear, trying to do the right thing can lead to disaster. Soon teamed with a new female detective named Delaney, the two dive deeper into the seedy underbelly of Missoula as they try to put this case to bed. But nothing is ever that simple in a murder investigation and as the complications rise and the danger escalates, Catlin and Delaney start to hone in on a secret that many will do anything to get and others will kill to protect. A taut, high-wire act of a murder mystery, Douglas Black's second novel is a thrilling addition to the oeuvre. Thomas Catlin is a revelation, a roughâ€"aroundâ€"theâ€"edges detective with the toughness we've come to expect from our heroes working in the darkest corners of society. And as blackmail ratchets up the intensity, Catlin's inner battle is a classic noir detective fiction at its finest, a probing look at the evil men -- and women -- do and the toll it takes on the souls of those dedicated to protect and serve. Full of rich detail and razor sharp dialogue, Messed Up is a quintessential murder mystery that brings life to a classic new anti-hero amidst the wild frontier of civilized Montana.