This is the 3rd book in a series - which I didn't realize when I requested this book from NetGalley. This was my mistake, and makes the book a little trickier to review. The story and writing were interesting and I'm sure I would have enjoyed it much more if I had the background knowledge of the characters that was missing when reading this as a stand alone novel. If you read the first two, I think you're in for a treat with this one!

Love this book SO much! I can see it being a book of the month pick without a doubt - book clubs, check this one out!

The Devil You Know by P.J. Tracy is an amazing thriller! From the start, I was captivated by the intricate plot and the suspenseful twists and turns.

Book Title: The Devil You Know
Series: Detective. Margaret Nolan #3
Author: J.P. Tracy
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press. Minotaur Books
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: January 17, 2023
My Rating: 3 Stars

P.J. Tracy is the pen name for the mother daughter team PJ and Traci Lambrecht. Unfortunately PJ died December 2016 but Traci continued to write the Monkeewrench series. I have not read any of those novels but on my TBR list.
I read "Deep into the Dark" as well as "Desolated Canyon" and liked both - so was pleased when I saw this the third in the series.
Maggie Nolan is a detective with LAPD. She has worked cases that involved LA’s rich and famous as well as those living on the streets. She has been called to a case where a body of popular actor Evan Hobbes is found in the rubble of Malibu rocks after an earthquake. (Hobbes has recently been the victim of a fake video showing him as a child molester and was viewed on social media. He claims the fake video was produced by someone with a grudge against him.) Maggie needs to investigate as to whether this was a homicide, suicide, or was it an accident.
There is another storyline with Maggie’s friend, a disabled vet with PTSD, who finds a letter from a scorned ancestor which reminds him of his own struggles.
I was disappointed that I didn’t connect with this as much as I thought I would.
I love Santa Barbara so was sure I was going to enjoy this.
I did enjoy reading the Acknowledgements.

Want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Book for granted me this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 17, 2023

I wasn't paying attention when I requested this book that it was part of a series, and I kind of wish I had read the ones leading up to this one. However, with that being said, it was still pretty darn good and I don't think I really missed anything not having read the others. I don't understand why a couple of the characters were in this story, but that is probably due to the aforementioned not paying attention that this was a series...but I digress. This was really good and police procedural thrillery and engaging and fast paced. I'd definitely read more of these!!

Los Angeles has many faces: the real LA where regular people live and work, the degenerate underbelly of any big city, and the rarefied world of wealth, power, and celebrity. LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan’s latest case plunges her into this insular realm of privilege, and gives her a glimpse of the decay behind the glitter.

Beloved actor Evan Hobbes is found in the rubble of a Malibu rockslide, a day after a fake video ruins his career. It’s not clear to Nolan if it’s an accident, a suicide, or a murder, and things get murkier as the investigation expands to his luminary friends and colleagues. Meanwhile, Hobbes’s agent is dealing with damage control, his psychotic boss, and a woman he’s scorned.

Fast paced and engrossing, this look at the underbelly of Hollywood's glamor is recommended to all readers. #TheDevilYouKnow #NetGalley #SaltMarshAuthors

I didn't realize this was book three in a series (of which I haven't read books one or two). There were a lot of characters to try and keep straight, relationships that I didn't fully understand (probably because I don't have all the backstory) and it made it really hard to get into the story. The author also used big or fancy words that made the reading feel "wordy" and when I was tired, hard to read. This seems to be a series that you need to read the books in order to be able to fully grasp and enjoy the book. Unfortunately I am to far behind to get into the book to finish reading. This is a DNF for me.

I normally love mysteries, but I struggled to get into this one. I hadn’t read in the series before this so maybe I’m just not used to the writing style!

I really love a female lead detective and in LA there so much crazy going on.
Detective Margaret Nolan is investigating the murder of a actor involved in a scandal. This is a long book with lots of characters so you really have to pay close attention or you’ll get lost.
This daughter of the mother daughter team of PJ Tracy is doing an excellent job of keeping this name alive for all of us who have loved and enjoyed this author for many years.

This is the first book I've read by this author, and right from the beginning, I was confused. There were a lot of different POVs and there was more than one murder that was being looked into and I never really got a handle on what was going on. I'm not sure if I would have liked this better if I had read the other books in the series, I might read other things by this author if it sounds appealing, but I don't think Ill continue on in this series.

Bodies are showing up everywhere around LA and they are all related; not only the crimes, but the victims are too. But who is the murderer? Detectives Nolan and Crawford are working hard to find out in this, the third book of this author's Detective Margaret Nolan series. The writing seemed overly descriptive in the beginning, but the storyline smoothed out and became a good mystery and police procedural. However, other than a quick surprise at the very end of the book, the flow of the story and the identity of the perpetrator was pretty predictable.

This is the first book that I have read from this author's series, and it probably would have been better if I had read the other two books first to gain more insight into the character's identities and their relationships with other characters. There is an underlying story going on about a veteran with PTSD, and grieving the loss of his wife, that just doesn't seem to fit into the narrative.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to read and review a digital ARC of this book.

Good story. Third in series, might have enjoyed it more if I had read the previous 2 books. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

The Devil You Know by P. J. Tracy
Thriller - Available on January 17th.

The Devil You Know is book 3 in the Detective Margaret Nolan series. I read it as a stand-alone. The characters took me a while to get acquainted with since I had no knowledge of the history of the first two books. Soon after I started reading, it became an intriguing murder mystery with unexpected twists. This novel would make an excellent movie with such a diverse cast.

Synopsis:
LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan is called to investigate the death of well-known actor Evan Hobbes. He is found dead in the debris of a rock slide in Malibu the day after a hoax video was released to tarnish his reputation. There are three possibilities: an accident, a suicide, or a murder. Detective Nolan has to decide which one it is. The investigation expands to Evan's friends, family, and coworkers as police follow the baffling clues in the case.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to review this amazing thriller. I look forward to reading more from P. J. Tracy.

I haven't read any of the Nolan books before, and really enjoyed this book. Because this is part of a series, I can understand Sam's part in the book, but felt he didn't add much to the overall story. It also seemed that the ending was a bit obvious, however I think it is more common in police procedurals to have a limited choice of suspects and therefore be able to solve the crime quite easily. I read more mysteries so wasn't used to that. That said, it really didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book.

The Devil You Know by P.J. Tracy is book 3 of the series, but the first book I read of it. I’ll admit, it took a minute to get into, but once I was hooked, I wasn’t putting it down. The vocabulary was a bit daunting at first, and the story jumped around from character to character in each chapter. The tale is put together like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Each chapter containing bits of the story from the various characters points of view. Until finally, the pieces begin to fit together and illustrate a bizarre murder mystery. The characters are so real, the plot line, so compelling. Give it a minute to hook you and you will not be disappointed.

I'm always on the lookout for new authors so when St. Martin's Press offered an advance copy of The Devil You Know by P. J. Tracy, I read the synopsis and decided to give this new-to-me author a try. I'm glad I did.

Actor Evan Hobbs is the victim of a disturbing fake video and is trying to keep it from ruining his career just before his body is discovered in a rock slide on the Pacific Coast Highway. Was it an accident, suicide or murder? Detective Margaret Nolan and her partner Al Crawford quickly determine there was foul play involved and the suspect list widens the more they look into Hobbs's life. It appears he wasn't as clean-cut as his publicist and agent made him out to be. Then the body count begins to mount and Nolan and Crawford must determine if they are dealing with a serial killer.

This is a good look at the wealth and power surrounding the movie industry. It is also an excellent police procedural with an interesting story line. The pacing is fast and the characters believable. This is the third book in the series and although it can be read as a standalone, I recommend reading the first two books in the series first. In fleshing out the background of the characters, too much of the plots of the prior books are revealed. There is also a character who apparently played a major role in the previous books but whose inclusion in this book is a bit puzzling. There are enough viable suspects to keep even the most dedicated thriller reader guessing. Overall, this is a very good read.

A twisty detective series with all of the drama that Hollywood contains! This is the third in a series and probably won't work as as standalone. The characters contain to develop in this series and I like where it's going! This case was perplexing and twisty, just what I like in a police procedural. I look forward to book 4! 3.5 stars.

This is the third installment of the detective Margaret Nolan series, first I’ve read.

This was an enjoyable book that kept me interested throughout the twists. However, this is one where I wish I had the physical book so I could color code people. I felt there was just a few too many characters I was trying to remember, but half the time confusing one with another.

All in all an enjoyable thriller to get me through my week.

This thriller was not thrilling. Very disappointed by the plot lines. Some were superfluous in my opinion. Sam’s story was an unnecessary addition and did nothing to aid the drama. It felt tagged on.. hanging by a thread. Some of the dialogue was so forced and vague I had to stop and reread the lines. For me, the mystery never intrigued or kept me interested. I slogged through but would have put it down if I had not committed to review it. Needs editing and tightening.

Los Angeles has many faces: the real LA where regular people live and work, the degenerate underbelly of any big city, and the rarefied world of wealth, power, and celebrity. LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan’s latest case plunges her into the realm of privilege when beloved actor Evan Hobbes is found in the rubble of a Malibu rockslide, a day after a fake video ruins his career. It’s not clear to Nolan if it’s an accident, a suicide, or a murder, and things get murkier as the investigation expands to his friends and colleagues. Meanwhile, Hobbes’s agent is dealing with damage control, his psychotic boss, and a woman he’s scorned.

This was a very good and well written book that seemed to capture the life of the privileged celebrities in Los Angeles. It describes the characters so well and the life these people live. It also reminds us that the wealthy are not always happy and have many problems to overcome. I did not realize that the book was #3 in a series and enjoyed it so much that I will be looking up the first two in the series to read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting my request to read this author that was new to me.