This is a really good gritty detective novel that is much like Los Angeles. I think you can easily read as a stand alone also .
It was fast paced with good plot and setting and overall was just a good book.
Thanks to Netgalley for letting me review this book and the publisher

The Devil You Know is the twisty third installment of P.J. Tracy's crime thriller series featuring Detective Maggie Nolan.

A terrible deepfake video ruins the career of a famous actor. So questions abound when his body is found in the rubble of a Malibu rockslide. Was it an accident? Suicide? Murder? As detective Maggie Nolan investigates, Hollywood's ugly side is exposed, more bodies are found, and the mystery deepens.

Told in multiple POVs with a large cast of interconnected characters and lots of moving pieces, this is an intricately plotted and twisty story. The curtain is pulled back on the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, with shallow, deceptive, scandal-plagued power players muddying the waters for Detective Nolan. Despite a handful of subplots, this is fast-paced, with crisp dialogue and plenty of action. This can be read as a stand-alone, but I do wish I had read the first two books in this series to have had more background on the characters. If you like police procedurals with a side of Hollywood scandal, you'll want to check this out!

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to review this ARC.

Margaret Nolan, detective with LAPD, finds herself embroiled in a case involving the glitterati of Hollywood. A young beloved star is smeared with a deepfake pornographic video on social media, but before either he or his agent are able to clear his name he is found dead in a mudslide. Was it suicide or murder? Margaret and her assistant Crawford tackle the situation step by step, a challenge since there are so many possibilities--and red herrings. Although I haven't read the first two books in this series, number three stands alone pretty well. However, the cast of characters from earlier mysteries is a bit confusing, and the opening letter regarding World War I, which doesn't really come up again until the end of the book, seemed superfluous to this story. At times the writing seemed clunky and overdone, but nonetheless, this was an enjoyable page-turner that kept my interest.

I was excited to read this new to me book with a lead female. I love crime thrillers but this story just did not hit the mark for me.

I did not realize that this was the third book in the series until I dived into it. I felt completely and utterly lost. There were so many characters and I had trouble connecting to them. It felt like that story bounced around and referred to things that I didn't understand. I do wonder if having read the first two stories would have alleviated some of the confusion.

As there was so many people to follow, I found myself confused and lost interest in the story. I checked out reviews and this seems to be a theme for this book - it is a series that should be read in order.

I would be open to going back and starting from book one as there is a lot of praise for this series. This is how I would recommend to others. For me, as a standalone, this just didn't work.

Margaret Nolan and her partner Al Crawford find themselves investigating a possible murder that takes them into the tangled rarified air of celebrity in Hollywood. Actor and heartthrob Evan Hobbes had his career and his life ruined when videos surface showing him taking part in child porn. When his body is found at the bottom of a mudslide on the Pacific Coast Highway, it could be suicide. But Margaret and Al need to investigate.

The more they learn, the more tangled the case becomes. And Evan's isn't the only death. He was attending a party at Essie Baum's. She's the wife of David Baum who's the head of Disney, the studio Evan works for. Then David's body and that of a young actress are found dead at one of his other homes.

Essie's brother and Evan's agent Seth Lehman is also murdered which ruins one of Margaret and Al's theories about what happened to Evan.

The story is told from multiple viewpoints including Seth's and was an intriguing and twisty thriller where we really got to learn a lot about what each of the characters was thinking and doing, Once I got into the style of the writing, I really enjoyed it.

I loved the plot, the writing style is awesome and full of POV’s from all angles, it’s easy to get lost in that. It’s not a full on standalone, so it was confusing for me when it came to connecting with the main characters in this book. It wasn’t for me though.

P. J. Tracy returns with the third installment in the Detective Margaret Nolan series with THE DEVIL YOU KNOW —where the author explores the underbelly of the Los Angeles area in her latest cop procedural with its celebrities, power, wealth, glitz, and glamour. Good versus evil.

LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan's latest case takes her to Hollywood to investigate the death of a well-known privileged actor Evan Hobbes.

A Disney actor is “filmed” in a compromising video, but it would appear that it’s a deep fake. Then before anything can be done, his dead body is found in a landslide.

Hobbes is found dead amidst the debris and rubble of a rock slide in Malibu after a fake video (having sex with a minor) was released to ruin his career and reputation. Hobbes had been among hundreds of well-heeled guests celebrating at a lavish party on the Baum estate.

Was it an accident, suicide, or murder?

The investigation expands to Evan's friends, family, and coworkers as police follow the baffling clues in the case. Those who attended parties and were closely associated were many.

Maggie Nolan is used to working cases for not only the rich and glitzy actors but the homeless and destitute. Nolan and Detective Crawford find connections to the wealthy and privileged in LA, Hollywood, and Santa Barbara, whose lives intersect and intertwine in shocking ways.

(I love Santa Barbara and Ojai and enjoyed my extended visit there- beautiful!).

Meanwhile, Hobbes’ agent is dealing with damage control, his psychotic boss, and a woman he has scorned.

When his powerful brother-in-law is murdered, he and Nolan both find themselves entangled in a scandalous deception of deadly proportion that shakes the very foundation of Hollywood’s rich and famous.

Tracy keeps the reader guessing in this twisty fast-paced, complex cop procedural with a large cast of characters (you will need to keep a scorecard) as the bodies pile up. An intriguing murder whodunit mystery with unexpected twists for a satisfying conclusion.

Nolan is a likable, intelligent, strong, and capable female protagonist, and would like to have heard more from her and her partner and their personal lives.

Her descriptions of the area are vivid and will draw you in. Short chapters keep the action moving and there is a storyline dealing with Sam (army vet and a letter) —PTSD, grief, and the loss of a family member, which adds a personal balance to the crime investigation. He is a friend of the detective, a troubled Afghan War vet who suffers from PTSD.

I also enjoyed the Author's Note regarding her inspiration, where she drew from her family (grandfather/cousin) and PTSD in relation to Sam Easton's character.

This book is part of the Detective Margaret Nolan Series—Desolation Canyon and Deep into the Dark. My first book in the series. It can be read as a standalone. However, I plan on picking up the audiobooks to listen to the previous ones in the series. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I had read the previous two books.

Thanks to #MinatourBooks and #NetGalley for a gifted e-book ARC.

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Pub Date: Jan 17, 2023
My Rating: 4 Stars
Jan 2023 Must-Read Books

I have been reading PJ Tracy’s books since I received a galley of the first book, Monkeewrench. I still have that galley and every other book penned by PJ Tracy.I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them all and The Devil you Know is no exception. With deep, complex primary characters like Maggie Nolan to guide the way, the reader embarks on a twisty ride while Maggie and her partner work to solve several murders- the first of an up-and-coming actor and a washed out starlet,and then a third one, an unexpected death . There are many suspects to choose from, and as Maggie works the case and explores the possibilities, we can’t help but become personally involved with how Maggie is doing.
As always, expert craftsmanship goes into the making of The Devil You Know and asareader and long time fan, I fully appreciate it and eagerly anticipate the next one…

I was expecting more of a police/ detective procedural story. It seemed the detectives were an after thought.
The story was a bit twisted and I was surprised by the ending.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

The Devil You Know is the third in the series featuring Margaret Nolan. At first, it’s not even clear whether her case is really a case. When Evan Hobbes body is found in the rubble after a minor rockslide, his death could be an accident, murder, or suicide. After all, the day before he was the victim of a deep fake video creating the impression he was a pedophile and ruining his Disney film career.

Like her two previous Nolan mysteries, there are several other characters to follow. Hobbes agent leverages his relationship to his sister’s husband, a big producer, to forward his career. But things are falling apart. The inter-connecting relationships seem authentic, but are also part of Tracy’s way of writing. This series and the previous Monkeewrench series.

The Devil You Know is a good mystery, but I felt distracted by subplots that could wait for another book such as whether or not a colleague goes to New Orleans or not. While the solution made sense and fit the character of the victims, the foundation was not as well-laid as it could have been. I don’t believe all characters in a series need to show up in every book in the series, if they are not active in the progress of the plot, let them fallow for a book or two.

The Devil You Know will be released on January 17th. I received an e-galley from the publisher through NetGalley.

The Devil You Know at St. Martin’s Press | Macmillan
P. J. Tracy author site

What a read. This book grabbed me and no matter what I needed to do, I could not put it down. It moves along at a pace that makes for an enjoyable and thrilling read. The characters are amazing and no matter what they have to do you cannot help but love them and you want to be there for them. This is a book that needs to be read and on your list of books for 2023, no doubt about it.

The Devil You Know, a novel by PJ Tracy, is full of promise that all the Hollywood snarkiness and insider info the author must have to tell will be revealed. The promise is not fulfilled, at least for this reader who was underwhelmed at the story. I submit that there is not a likable character in the novel. Once I realized that satisfaction was not coming, I persevered anyway! Surely it will all come together! But no, it is at best a mildly interesting read.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

The third satisfying entry in the Detective Margaret Nolan series is an intriguing, action-packed police procedural. There are a lot of characters and it's best to read the books in order to have a familiarity with the characters.

Positive - awesome part - the epilogue! That threw me for a loop. This is 3 in a series as duly noted here on good reads, but was not stated on NetGalley. I feel like book 1 and 2 have to be read to be able to follow some of this twisty tale. The negative for me, so many characters, plots, subplots that I needed a cheat sheet for each time I got lost. As a reader I have to take some of the responsibility for or "failure to communicate" so to speak. I think Sam, our vet with PTSD (who was not in a lot of this book) was my favorite. If you enjoy police procedurals that are thick with twists and multiple characters and plots, this is the book for you. Thank you for the arc! I freely volunteer my thoughts and opinions. #thedevilyouknow #detectivemargaretnolan #pjtracy #stmartinspress #netgalley

This is the first book I have read by the author and it will not be the last. Some of the other reviews state that it is hard to read this book without reading the prior two books in the series. While I would say it would be nice to have read those previously to understand some of the backstory, I do not think it is a requirement to enjoy this book. I really enjoyed all of the different point of views since I enjoy that type of writing style. I hope there is a fourth book in this series. Well done!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book for my honest review.

This was my first book by this author. I liked the mystery part of the story. I had a hard time following the characters because there were so many different stories going on. I think I was at a disadvantage because it's book 3 in a series. Also, the author uses a lot of fancy words that sometimes I couldn't even figure out what the meaning was, which made it harder to read. It was just ok.

The Devil You Know is the third installment of the Detective Margaret Nolan series. The plot and character development are solid as I have come to expect of author P.J. Tracy. In reading other reviews a few folks mentioned that LA, where the novel takes place, is a main character and I agree with that statement. I think I’m tiring of the LA scene which is just my personal preference. All in all a good read, I highly recommend et this series.

**Thank you NetGalley for an electronic ARC, I enjoyed the opportunity to review this novel.

This was a good read but being book 3 in a series, I think you definitely need to read the first two to get a better understanding and connection. I didn’t know that when I first read it but I wish I did lol there were a lot of characters and relationships already established and it would have been nice to read the prior books. Overall it wasn’t bad, I might go back and read the first two.

This was the first book of the series that I’d read and I think it would have been better if I had read the others in the series first. There are many references to what must have taken place in a previous book, but they weren’t fully introduced in a way that gave me a feeling for the characters and what happened to them. The other thing I found to be difficult were how many characters were introduced during the first several chapters. At first the characters and events seemed to be totally unrelated. I found it to be disjointed. It wasn’t until well into the book that connections were made.
The book held my interest as I put clues together for the “Whodunit Reveal”. #TheDevilYouKnow #netgalley

I’m so sorry, this is another one that just didn’t do it for me. I cannot bring myself to vibe with the main character Margaret, and I also just didn’t vibe with the writing style. Also WHY ARE THERE SO MANY POV CHARACTERS that was absolutely not a positive in ASOIAF why are we trying to emulate it??

Thank you Netgalley & Minotaur for the ARC. My New Year’s resolution is to be more selective in the ARCs I request.