This isn’t a bad book. It’s ultimately predictable. It will be a solid purchase for most libraries & a good read alike for fans of Baldacci and Patterson

I didn’t love this. One part is my fault in starting on this book instead of the first one but… I don’t think it’s my fault that there was zero explanation of the characters. Usually when you jump in mid-series there’s some sort of recap to who these people are. There was nothing here. So definitely start on book one if you choose to. However, this book was ridiculously jumpy and didn’t flow right. I get having multiple viewpoints and I usually like that, but it didn’t work here. It made it hard to connect or root for anybody. Certain characters seemed unnecessary and certain characters were confusing due to the constant switching between referring to them by their first or last name. No consistency. I did like they ending and that’s what probably saved this from being a one star.

P.J. Tracy’s new series is back for its third instalment – and sunny Los Angeles never held so many dark secrets as it does in The Devil You Know.

When Hollywood actor Evan Hobbs is targeted by a nasty deepfake video, it looks like it will be the final death knoll for a career already well into a downhill slide. But after an earthquake rattles the Beverly Hills, his body is discovered amid a landslide, and suddenly the death knoll is all too literal – and Tinseltown has any number of sins its inhabitants will kill to keep buried.

I’ve been enjoying this new series from an author I’ve loved for years, but The Devil You Know is absolutely my favorite so far. It feels like this is the book where P.J. Tracy has really hit her stride, getting comfortable with the characters and combining them with a tense, twisty storyline that hits every story beat at the perfect moment.

Margaret Nolan definitely comes to the fore here, Sam and Melody being present but very much taking a back seat to our series protagonist. I enjoyed that change of pace – as much as I love those characters, I’ve been very keen to see Margaret get her time in the spotlight, and this feels like the first in the series that centers her as the main character over Sam.

The plot is still satisfyingly complex, but I felt the action was a little more grounded in this outing as well. I like that – it’s a little more plausible, but still had me captivated and needing to know how it all happened. All in all, I really enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to seeing this series continue to develop and grow.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I liked the build up of suspense and mystery and would read more of P.J Tracy in the future.

Thank you to St Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an advance e-book copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third installment of the Detective Margaret Nolan series by P.J. Tracy and probably my least favorite of the three. Detective Nolan and her partner are investigating the death of a Hollywood star and before you know it, the bodies are starting to pile up. There is a connection between all the deaths that must be solved to catch the killer, which was pretty obvious.
The storyline for Sam and Melody didn't really feel like it was necessary to the story, felt more like it was used as filler.
This wasn't a horrible read but it also wasn't an outstanding one, a quick read to take on vacation where not much thinking is required.

I almost never DNF but I am doing so with this one. I didn’t realize it was part of a series when I requested it so I didn’t love starting part way through a series. I also didn’t love the wordiness of the writing. Almost like the author was trying too hard. So I won’t be finishing this one unfortunately.

I tried I really did but this book lost me first in print and then in audio. The early chapters were so wordy, over descriptive that I lost what the author was trying to say and then by the time the story got going and some of the over descriptions stopped I was lost and just not wanting to go back and retrace the earlier pages. So I tried the audio even though that was not the format I had originally requested. I did get further but found I was no longer interested and just not willing to spend the time.

So I will not try to rate this book as I DNFed at about 40%. Think I will not be requesting further arc's from this sight.

Thanks, Kerry McCabe

The Devil You Know is the third installment of the Detective Margaret Nolan series by P.J. Tracy. LAPD Detective Nolan’s latest case involves the body of Evan Hobbes found in the rubble on the side of a cliff a day after a video is released, which could destroy his career as a beloved actor. At first, it looks like an accident, possibly a suicide. As Detective Nolan and her partner Detective Crawford begin their investigation, it seems something more sinister was at play here. The more people they interview, they get to know the Hollywood elite at play here, the more convoluted the case becomes, especially since more bodies start turning up, with deep connections to each of the victims.

I have only read the first book in this series, skipped the second one and now finished the third. I had an idea about the main character Detective Maggie Nolan, and the other recurring character Sam. Sam didn’t have a big part in this book, which I think was a mistake. He seemed to be just an added, useless character to keep the series relevant. As far as characters, there were a lot, like too many to keep track of. Part of the problem with this is the author goes back and forth using first names, and sometimes last names, I found it very confusing. Even with the main characters, sometimes the Detective was Maggie, sometimes Nolan, Evan was occasionally referred to as Hobbes, sometimes Evan, maybe this is why there seemed to be so many characters, It may be beneficial to keep a notebook with characters and a summary of who was who, and what they do, as well as their storylines.

I regret to say I was not a fan of this series. I wasn’t thrilled with the first book in the series, I was hoping the storylines and characters would have been more developed by now, but they weren’t. This author has many published books, I’m not sure what the disconnect is with this new series.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Mintauer Books for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

This third book in "The Detective Margaret Nolan" Series by creative and gifted writing team, "P.J. Tracy", is an excellent police procedural focused on the seedy Hollywood underbelly and all its machinations. It is hard to imagination the depths to which people will fall in order to claw their way to the top. This story reminds us how fleeting and tenuous fame is and how quickly it can twist into infamy.

The writing is strong. Although, I do caution sensitive readers as the language is sometimes raw and the scenes a tad grizzly. The writers have a good solid command of language and draw on its depth to use the perfect words for the perfect moment - a craft which this reader greatly admires. The character development is solid, not only for the primary characters but also for those which will never make it out of this book. The mise en scène is rich and well prepared such that one can hear the ocean's crashing waves while tasting its salty tang upon the ocean mist. One easily envisions the classic California ranch homes as beautifully described on the book's pages. The fashionable attire is also richly described and is far out of affordability for this reader yet fun to imagine.

All in all, this was an excellent story with lots of twists and turns. Our lead detective methodically works through the clues and delivers a rewarding conclusion.

I am grateful to Minitaur Books for having provided a complimentary copy of this book. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

A winner! The perfect mix of characters, investigation, and murder mystery, it doesn't get better than this if you love good crime mystery. The team we loved in Desolation Canyon continue on, and can't get enough of the directions they are moving. Plenty of red herrings that keep you guessing. Can't wait for the next installment.

P. J.Tracy's "The Devil You Know" introduces Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Detective Margaret Nolan to a death that threatens the foundation of Hollywood and its upper echelon. The book is #3 in The Detective Margaret Nolan Series ("Desolation Canyon" #1 and "Deep into the Dark" #2) It is recommended that you read the books in order.

FIRST SENTENCE: "The ocean was singing in the hushed, undulating tones of low tide on this still, damp night."

THE STORY: Well-known actor Evan Hobbes is found dead in the rubble of a Malibu rock slide a day after a fake video ruins his career. 'Is it an accident, a suicide; or a murder?' With more deaths, Detective Nolan has a difficult case to solve.

WHAT I THOUGHT: P. J. Tracy is a good mystery writer with lots of readers, but don't start with "The Devil You Know" without reading the first two books. There are lots of characters to try to keep straight and bits and pieces of past stories revealed but not explained.

Descriptive words accentuate every thought and every event, seeming too pretty for a police procedural. If you are more interested in a story than in the fancy writing and if you aren't comfortable with wordy writing, this might not be a book for you.

BOTTOM LINE: RECOMMENDED If you are a fan of the Monkeewrench Series, you need to read copies of the first two books in The Detective Margaret Nolan Series and then read "The Devil You Know". P. J. Tracy is a pseudonym for the American mother-daughter writing team Patricia and Traci Lambrecht. They became New York Times bestselling authors in the process. Patricia died in 2016.

DISCLAIMER: I received a free e-copy of "The Devil You Know" by P. J. Tracy from NetGalley/St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for my honest review.

The Devil You Know
By P.J. Tracy
Book 3 in The Detective Margaret Nolan series

When the body of an actor is revealed after an earthquake, Detective Margaret Nolan
finds herself thrust into the world of Hollywood royalty.

(Disclaimer: I haven’t read the other two books in the series, but it didn’t matter because this can be read as a standalone novel.)

The body of popular Disney actor Evan Hobbes, accused via social media of child molesting, is found after an earthquake shakes him loose and dumps his body on the Pacific Coast Highway. Detective Margaret Nolan and her partner Al Crawford are assigned to the high-profile case. As they investigate, Detective Nolan is forced to deal with all sorts of characters-agents without souls, jilted lovers, and Hollywood royalty. Before the initial murder is solved, more bodies are discovered, and more murders are committed. Is one person responsible for all the murders or is it just Essie Baum is extremely unfortunate to be in the middle of it all? Are the murders even related to one another or just eerie timing? Nolan’s skills are put to the test as the body count continues to grow.
The Devil You Know is fast-paced murder mystery, full of twists and turns. The first five chapters are spend introducing the reader to the key players in the novel and that threw me for a bit because it wasn’t clear how they fit into the book overall. It also made it more difficult to remember who they were when re-introduced as the story unfolded. Once Hobbes’ appeared (Chapter 10) the links between the characters clarified and the reading became easier.

P.J. Tracy’s way of writing is what really drew me into the book, though, and is what kept me reading. Tracy uses dark humor and cutting observations to reveal her characters, while also writing a mystery that was difficult to solve. I enjoyed reading The Devil You Know.

Thanks to #NetGally for providing a copy of the book.

This is the third entry in the Maggie Nolan series. I could barely read past the oddly flowery first chapter, but was glad I kept on as The Devil You Know is a passably entertaining, solid three stars mystery. Evan Hobbes, a famous actor with a previously impeccable reputation, has been accused in a viral video of engaging in sexually inappropriate conduct with minors during the course of his career. And now he is dead. Maggie Nolan catches the case, faced with a question as to whether his fall from a cliff while at a party was accident, suicide or he was helped out. In a side story, Sam Easton, who was apparently a character in an earlier book in the series, is still finding his way, plagued by PTSD and faced with career decisions as he is ready to work again. This entry develops love interests for both Nolan and Eastman. A central character is Hobbes' agent, Seth Lehman, utterly unlikeable in a number of ways and brother to the host of the party where Hobbes died. Seth hates the owner of his agency and wants out. Hobbes was his biggest client, but he has another fish on the hook, an old love interest who made it big and a very angry girlfriend who doesn't appreciate how he treats her. All in all, the characters are fun to follow. The plot is find. The writing (except Chapter 1) is entertaining.

Book Summary:

LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan has gotten used to her role in this world – and she's gotten pretty good at finding the bad guys. Yet even her history cannot prepare her for the new case about to come her way.

Evan Hobbes is a disgraced actor who very recently had a viral video that ruined his career. Now his body is buried in the rubble of a rock slide, and it's up to Nolan to determine the cause of his death. Was it nefarious, suicide, or a horrible accident?

My Review:

I want to start this review with a bit of transparency: I missed the first two novels in the Detective Margaret Nolan series and jumped in with The Devil You Know (#3). This slightly impacted my reading experience, as none of the characters were clearly introduced. I've gotten spoiled with expecting thriller/mystery series to do this, so this is admittedly my bad. Don't make my mistake – read the series in order!

That said, I have to give credit to the writing. The Devil You Know is smooth and compelling. I may not have understood the characters of note, but it was pretty easy to understand the plot – and the potential threat.

I loved pulling in dramatic elements such as a disgraced actor and the drama of viral videos. Those were nice touches. I will have to go back and read the rest of this series because it seems worthwhile.

Highlights:
Suspense
Big city crimes
Mystery series

Trigger Warnings:
Suicide (discussed)

The Devil You Know is a police procedural and the third in a series. Unfortunately I did not realize this when I started and I felt the new kid in school halfway thru a semester. There were sooo many characters and I had trouble figuring out who was important to the story and who was not. I think I would have loved all the cameo appearances if I had started the series with book one. An enjoyable storyline but I was confused for most of the book

My first Margaret Nolan mystery! I love a good series with a strong female detective! The book starts with a riveting inciting incident and continues to gain momentum until the final conflict. A great escape from the monotony of the day!

Is the Disney Actor’s Death Suicide or Murder?

Evan Hobbs, a beloved Disney actor, is the victim of what appears to be a deep fake, a video of him in a compromising position with a young girl, After a Hollywood party, he’s found dead in a the collapse of a cliff. With the exposure of the video, it could be suicide. Detective Maggie Nolan is assigned the case. A second death, the murder of the brother-in-law of Hobbes’ agent, tips the scales in favor of murder.

This is the third book in the Detective Margaret Nolan series. Many of the characters are regulars in the series, but there is a host of new characters. Sometimes it almost seems like too many. If you haven’t read the first two books it may be hard to keep them straight. The characters, even the minor ones, are well developed. One of the things I like about this book is the interleaving of personal information about the investigators lives with the murder investigation.

This is a well plotted police procedural with lots of twist and turns to keeping you guessing the identity of the murderer until the end. I also enjoyed the detailed descriptions of Los Angeles, particularly the rarefied air of Hollywood stars and their associates. If you enjoy police police procedurals, this is a good one.

I received this book from St. Martins’s Press for this review.

I enjoyed this complex police procedural, although there were many characters to keep track of and the point of view would change from chapter to chapter. It took me a bit to get into this book because of that (but it probably would have helped if I had read the first two books in the series first). It kept me guessing until the end and I appreciate the opportunity to read and review it.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with a copy of the book to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5 Stars
Evan Hobbs a famous, wholesome type of actor is found dead in a beach cliff landside the day after a faked video showing him as a child molester. Is it an accident, suicide, or murder? Detective Margaret Nolan and her partner, Al Crawford are called to the scene to figure it out.

The blurb makes it sound like Evan’s agent, Seth Baum, is part of the investigation into the death of Evan, but while we do get his POV he’s not part of the investigation. He’s what you’d expect an agent in that cutthroat business in Hollywood, but he was one of the more likeable of the array of unlikable characters here. The workings of the entertainment business featured in this case. The lengths people will go for fame and fortune is unsettling.

Sam Easton was also part of the story, but not featured in the investigation at all. There was some movement in his personal life, but to be honest his story wasn’t of much interest to me. Margaret’s personal life, her romance with Remy was on the backburner, but I didn’t mind that either, because I was more invested in the mystery anyhow.

I do enjoy a good police procedural, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the previous Monkeywrench series. Still, it was an entertaining mystery. I did figure out the main plot but there was a surprise at the end I wasn’t expecting!

I alternately listened to the audio version and read an e-copy. Abby Craden is a performer I’m familiar with and I enjoyed her performance of both male and female voices. I listened at my usual 1.5-1.75x normal speed.

What better scene for murder than Hollywood? In the third installment of the Detective Margaret Nolen series, a fake video ruins a star's career, but then he turns up dead. Nolen is on the hunt to prove it is a murder and to find the murderer.

The Devil You know is so fast paced, I had to slow myself down to make sure I didn't miss any small detail. While there is action and suspense, there is also a lot of profanity and explicit references that I could have done without. A little profanity is easy to gloss over, but sometimes this was overwhelming.

Although this story could be read as a stand alone, it is recommended to read the first two to have a better understanding of certain aspects to the story. It has some very good twists that keep you guessing to the end. If you can get over the profanity, it is an enjoyable read.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.