I have always enjoyed the works of PJ Tracy. I will admit this book started slowly for me and I really considered not finishing it. I was glad I did not, the story picks up and is full of intrigue, suspense, and action. A good read!

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Book #4 in the Detecive Margaret Nolan series. You could read this book as a stand alone but PJ Tracy has done an excellent job of building the back stories and community in the series from page 1 in DEEP INTO THE DARK where Det Nolan was introduced to Tracy's Monkeewrench fans. There are several story threads that progress through each book along with the main crime investigation. To completely enjoy the series, it should be read in order.

Tracy keeps the tension high throughout CITY OF SECRETS as Det Nolan and her team investigate the murder and kidnapping commited to influence the sale of a mega company. The suspects are many, clues few and the end a surprise. Just they way I like my thrillers!

Fast paced, police thriller. Multilayered plot with a strong female lead. This is the fourth book in the series and can be read as a standalone but it’s better to read from the beginning to get all the characters. Audio was narrated by Abby Craden, and she did a fantastic job. Audio was provided by Netgalley for an honest review. #CityOfSecrets

An intriguing and complex mystery that will keep you turning the pages until the exciting end! A man is murdered in his car and Detective Margaret Nolan and her partner Detective Al Crawford begin their investigation. What was this wealthy man doing, in the early morning hours, in a rundown section of town and who killed him? His ex-wife and daughter are out of the country and his company, Peppy Pets Organic Pet Food, is involved in urgent discussions regarding a possible sale. It appears he had many secrets that Margaret and Al must slowly uncover. As they search for an unknown woman who was involved with the dead man, the investigation becomes even more twisted as the wife of his former business partner is threatened. A looming personal concern for Margaret and her love interest, Detective Remy Beaudreau, who is a member of the same Homicide Special Section where fraternization is not allowed. Meanwhile, Remy is investigating the overdose death of a local doctor. Is his death somehow connected to the murder that Margaret is investigating? An absolute thrill ride from beginning to end! I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

City of Secrets is the latest offering in the Detective Maggie Nolan police procedurals. It’s number 4 in the series. Set in Los Angeles, of course, the murder victim is a business mogul who is about to ink a multi-million dollar deal for his pet food company. But he shows up dead in his car in the wrong place. It doesn't make sense that he’s found in a barrio with a single shot to the head. Then within a few hours of that discover, his former business partner, a veterinarian, discovers that his separated wife has been kidnapped.

The Maggie Nolan books would make a great television series. There’s a phalanx of characters around her that also recur, novel to novel, and draw you into their lives. Fans of Stuart Woods will love P.J. Tracy, who used to write a very different kind of mystery with her mother. P.J. Tracy is in fact a pen name made by combining parts of her name and her mother’s (now deceased). I'm happy to recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys police procedurals, Southern California, or just a really good read.

Another tense chilling book in this excellent series.I really enjoyed City of Secrets ,the characters the stories the location a true page turner.#netgalley #st.martins books.

4.25stars-CITY OF SECRETS is the fourth instalment in PJ Tracy’s contemporary, adult DETECTIVE MARGARET NOLAN mystery, crime thriller focusing on Detective Margaret Nolan and the investigators of the LAPD. CITY OF SECRETS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but I recommend reading the series in order for backstories and cohesion.

Told from numerous omniscient third person perspectives CITY OF SECRETS follows as the LAPD begins an investigation into the murder of a billionaire businessman and owner of Peppy Pets just hours before the sale of his struggling corporation. In what appears to be a car-jacking gone wrong, Nolan and her team quickly discover that all is not as it appears to be. When the dead man’s former business partner and wife are kidnapped, the possibility of a ransom has yet to be revealed, someone else is pulling the strings in a game of winner take all.

Meanwhile, former US miliary soldier Sam Easton returns, hoping for a position with the LAPD’s SWAT team but before he is hired, Sam finds himself on the hunt for a killer, whose connection to the Cartel run dangerous and deep including the import of millions of dollar in illegal drugs.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful, animated and spirted secondary and supporting characters including the return of Nolan’s forbidden love interest Detective Remy Beaudreau, and several members of the LAPD and forensics departments. We are introduced to former co-owner of Peppy Pets Dr. Rome Bechtold and his estranged wife Nicole, as well as company CFO Cynthia Jackson. The requisite evil has many faces.

CITY OF SECRETS is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, murder and mayhem. From the Cartel to organized crime, drugs and kidnapping, rogue killers and dysfunctional family values CITY OF SECRETS pulls the reader into a dramatic and twisted story of intrigue, suspense, power and madness-a wonderful addiction to any crime lovers’ collection.



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I haven't read any other in the series but I didn't have a problem with following along. I think I may have missed some of the back story of Maggie Nolan and Remy but the mystery itself was good. A wealthy businessman is found dead in his car in a sketchy part of town and then his ex-partner's wife is kidnapped. Are they connected? There were a lot of characters so I was glad I had a list going so I could refer back. The writing was good and kept an even pace for the most part. The end was a little bit of a page turner but not breathtaking. I will go back and read the previous books because I liked the characters enough to find out more about them.

I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of City of Secrets, the fourth book in the Detective Nolan series. I had read the first book, and now the fourth, I was not lost. This book can stand alone.

I enjoyed the characters on the police force, the book was a fast paced thriller/who done it that kept my interest and the pages turning. I was drawn to read it. Overall the story had too many ins and outs, it took a bit of work to keep all the companies and characters straight and who was pulling one over on whom. But overall, it was a quick vacation read and I will search out more of Maggie Nolan.

Los Angeles Police Detective Margaret Nolan and her partner Al Crawford are called to the scene of what looks like a fatal car-jacking. The victim was one of the founders of a company about to sell for millions and, within a day of his death, his partner’s wife is abducted. Detective Nolan gets pulled into a disturbing world of sex, violence and big business.

Like the previous book in this series that I read, the story is well written and easy to grasp. I really like Margaret (also called Maggie, Mags and Nolan in the story) as a character; she seems very realistic and down-to-earth. I don't normally like romance in my police procedurals, especially between colleagues, but it's not that prominent in this book. There are many side characters, some of whom have featured in the previous books and some new ones and more than once I had to skip back to remind myself who a character was. It was amazing how seemingly unrelated incidents all came together in the end. This is Book 4 in the series but could be read as a standalone. I still hope to find time to read Books 1 and 2 and I'll be watching for Book 5.

I was invited to read an advance copy of this book by Natalie Sun, Marketing Intern, St. Martin's Publishing, so thank you to her and to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via Netgalley for the opportunity. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: August 20, 2024

This is the fourth in the series but the first book by P. J. Tracy that I have read. The first three chapters seem unrelated but I knew better. It did take a while before the stories were weaved together.

The death was horrific. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing.

I might have had an easier task tracking all the players had I read the first three books but I didn’t.
I would not recommend reading this without having reading one or more of the previous books.
I found the police couple relatable and did enjoy the book.

Netgalley gave me an advanced reader’s copy and I am not required to leave a positive review.

This was my first P.J. Tracy novel. Although it is book four in the Detective Nolan series, it worked really well as a stand alone. I started by listening while.doing chores yesterday, then switched to reading the ebook at bedtime. I thought I would just read a few chapters before falling asleep, next thing I knew it was 3 am and I was finished the book. Fast paced, with lots of twists and turns. Packed with details and fully fleshed out side characters. There is no way you're guessing the ending of this one.
I'll definitely be reading more PJ Tracy, starting with the first three books in this series.
4.5 stars!

Huge thanks to @netgalley and @minotaur_books for the uncorrected proof!

In this story we have death of course but we have corporate funding scandals and even Europe royalty, sort of, that are all at play here. Then we have a very surprising twist that I feel hooks you into the next book.

City of Secrets is an intriguing police procedural mystery with just enough suspense and twists to keep me turning pages as quickly as I could. With a large amount of interesting and engaging characters, it took a few chapters to figure out how they all fit together, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed this read. This was the first book I’ve read in the series, but I didn’t feel like missing the first three caused any gaps or holes from missing backstory. I’m definitely going back to read the first three now!

This is the fourth book in the Detective Margaret Nolan series. This one is the case of the murdered pet food co-founder. What was he doing on the wrong side of town? There were so many twists and turns; so much mystery and drama. This is a very entertaining who-done-it.

City of Secrets was an easy to read detective story. Short chapters, and the storyline was simple and clear. Perfect for an end of summer time read.

I jumped right in on book 4 and had no problem following the story. I noticed my library has all the other books in this series. I'm eager and excited to read more books by P.J. Tracy.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What is it about Minnesota that produces such outstanding mystery writers? Is it the weather keeping people housebound? Is it the incredible areas like the Boundary Waters? Is it the drinking water? Right off the bat I will come up with P.J. Tracy, William Kent Kruger, and John Sandford.
P.J Tracy’s Margaret Nolan detective novels are set in Los Angeles unlike the outstanding Monkeewrench Gang series which she co-wrote with her late mother. Doesn’t matter. Tracy will make any setting, and character come alive. Or dead, as the case may be.
Pet food company founder, Bruce Messane is found dead in his car on the day he was about to sell his company making him a very very rich man (as opposed to merely very rich). He is found in a dangerous, very bad area of Los Angeles. Where a man like him would only be hanging out for drugs or sex. A neat bullet hole in his head has put paid to his life.
Immediately afterwards Messane’s former partner’s wife, then his former partner are both kidnapped. Along with their dog. Did I mention Tracy can take us down wonderful white rabbit holes?
City of Secrets starts slowly, with momentum building as more and more information is discovered by Nolan and her partner, Al Crawford, along with others in her unit.
What starts as a wrong time, wrong place murder quickly morphs into an intricate story encompassing all sorts of international crime. The excitement level ratchets up as the minutes pass too.
Sam Easton, a former soldier serving in Afghanistan and a major character in other Margaret Nolan books has a minor role in City of Secrets, but he is happy and able to mostly look at his PTSD in the rearview mirror. It seemed as he was being positioned to take a larger role in upcoming books.
Not much in the way of sunny skies in City of Secrets, Tracy has chosen to set her book in the midst of atmospheric miserable rainy weather that fits the inner-city environs of so much of the book. So nice not to have weather envy of LA.
City of Secrets is complex, compelling storytelling. Nolan is a smart detective who doesn’t know it all. Her co-workers are all her partners, none of the backbiting and undermining I get so tired of reading in police detective books.
I highly recommend every book in the Margaret Nolan and Monkeewrench series. However, City of Secrets, stands on its own merits if this the first of her books that you read. They are all terrific books.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Minotaur’s press for an Advanced Review Copy.

This is the fourth book in P. J. Tracy’s (pseudonym for Traci Lambrecht that derives from when she and her mother wrote the Monkeewrench series before her death) Detective Margaret Nolan series. Nolan and her partner, Al Crawford, catch the case of the murder of Bruce Messane, the CEO of a successful pet food business that is about to be acquired in a multimillion dollar transaction. The murder occurred in a run-down, dangerous part of Los Angeles - step one in the investigation is to figure out what he was doing there in the first place. A day later, the wife of Messane’s former business partner is kidnapped, followed a day later by the kidnapping of the former partner as well. Sound complicated? It is. There are several story lines that sometimes get confusing as you try to remember exactly who is who and why are they in this complex story. As the plot unfolds and the stories converge, the pace quickens to a fast paced ending. This book has all the elements of a good mystery - plenty of twists and false leads. While I ended up enjoying the book in the end, it was quite confusing - lots of characters and the story bouncing back and forth (sometimes feeling like all over the place) for some time which leads to my 3 star rating. Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

this is the 4th book in the Detective Margaret Nolan series. A successful business man was murdered in a shady part of town, and the wife of one of his partners is kidnapped. While Det Nolan and her partner are investigating the murder they discover their friend Sam at the home of the partner trying to convince him to call the police regarding his wife. Sam is also in the process of joining the SWAT team and moving his relationship forward with Melody

I really like this series and find the characters people I want to continue to read about. I like how their stories always seem to intersect and the mysteries are always interesting. This can be read as a stand-alone but I would suggest reading the others first. It gives more context to the characters.

I am enjoying the budding romance between Remy and Nolan. Their office romance is not as secret as they would prefer but Remy is starting to consider other options instead of the police, he would also like to move home to Louisiana - so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Overall a solid mystery with great characters. I'm going to keep going with this series.

When Detective Margret Nolan and her partner Al Crawford get called to less desirable part of town to find Bruce Messane, CEO of a multi-million-dollar company, shot in his car, and the tires missing. At the same time as he should have been at a board meeting selling the company.
The investigation leads them to a former partner, whose wife has just been kidnapped.
And let’s throw in cooked books, drugs, … and you have quite the ride.