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.

I read City of Secrets without having read any of the prior Detective Nolan books... which I really think is necessary for this series. This was my first Tracy book and though I thought the book was good, there was so much backstory in this book that I needed to know and so I struggled with many parts.

All that aside, this is a good mystery story... and it is not a typical police procedural (it is sort of solved... no spoilers here.) That made the story feel more realistic to me. This story also made me want to go back and read the earlier books in the series to fill in the gaps!

If this is not your first Detective Nolan book, I think you will enjoy it tremendously!

I would like to thank Netgalley, St. Martin's Press Minotaur Books for the digital copy of this book. It was published on August 20, 2024.

City of Secrets is book four in the amazing Detective Margaret Nolan series by P. J. Tracy.
This is a well-written, entertaining, fast paced, crime thriller. It has murder, mystery, suspense, with a touch of humor, amazing twists and turns, and a surprise ending.
This is the fourth entry in P.J. Tracy's outstanding Detective Margaret Nolan series, and can easily be read and enjoyed as a stand alone, but is even better when read in order.
The phenomenal gritty characters make this story so much more entertaining.
I loved the story; the characters are likable and realistic and the pacing of this story was really good.

Thank You NetGalley and Minotaur Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This is the 4th book in a series that I haven’t read. When I was given the book, I was told it was a “standalone installment” so I accepted it. I need to be upfront and tell you that I disagree with that and only recommend this book if you have read the other books in the series. Whereas I thought the storyline and mystery were good, without all the backstories that were alluded to, it’s easy to feel a little lost while reading. I also had an issue keeping all the characters straight. I felt like everyone had at least 2 names they went by – sometimes it was just their first name, sometimes it was their last name, and other times it was a nickname. Maybe if I’d read the other 3 books I would know the characters better to more easily go from one name to another but as a person thrown into an existing series with many characters, it was hard to keep track. These are the issues that make it only an OK read rather than a really good read for me personally. I’m sure others that have been following the series have much higher praise because again, the storyline and mystery were good. It’s piqued my interest enough that I will be putting the 1st in the series on my TBR to give the series a proper try.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the complimentary copy of this book. As always, the opinions expressed within this review are completely my own.

I thank Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy. I, unfortunately could not get thru this book. I may have enjoyed it more if I had read the first couple books and got to know the characters.

A quick and entertaining read, a thrilling addition to the Detective Margaret Nolan series. On the eve of a big financial deal to sell his company, the CEO of a successful pet food company is found dead in his car in a rough part of LA. Why was he there? Drugs? Sex? Then his former partner's wife is kidnapped. Just a coincidence? Not likely.

Nice combination of drama and humor. I enjoyed these characters and their personal relationships. Looking forward to seeing where the author takes her characters next. Big changes in store?

Many thanks to author and publisher for the invitation to read an arc of this new book in a mystery series I've enjoyed from book one. The ebook arc was provided to me via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

I was a big fan of the Monkeewrench series by P. J. Tracy from the beginning, but I had not read a book by this author for a few years and can't really give a reason for that. When I saw that City of Secret was available, I was excited to revisit a nostalgic favorite, and I am happy to say I was impressed again with the writing and thrills. While half of the original writing team has passed away, the daughter, Traci, is continuing writing under the name, with continued success.

City of Secrets is a complicated detective novel, and like many of my favorites features a strong, intelligent woman as the lead character. There is a murder which gets Nolan involved, and a kidnapping which may or may not be related. Some possibly shady business dealings might also be part of the crime as well as drug dealing. I struggled a little throughout the book to keep characters straight, as there are a considerable number of people both criminals and crime fighters that play a role in this story. The romantic interest in the Margaret Nolan series keeps her human and grounded, and I am rooting for them to continue the relationship in future books, as well.

Reading City of Secrets has made me want to reread the earlier books and to catch up on the ones I have missed in the last few years. Readers of Melinda Leigh or Kendra Elliott's detective novels will also enjoy P. J. Tracy. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the digital ARC of City of Secrets by P. J. Tracy. The opinions in this review are my own.

This was a great police/crime procedure book and I enjoyed reading how they solved the crimes in this book. However, this is part of a series and I haven't read any of the other books in this series and was lost trying to figure out characters for the first couple of chapters. One would definitely benefit from reading past books in this series before reading.

I loved this series almost, but not quite as much as the Monkeywrench books. The includes Marg Nolan & Remy. Th story was very confusing at times and am not entirely sure who did what to whom, but it involved murder, & kidnapping, and trying to tie the two together. It was interesting. I’d recommend to anyone who has enjoyed pj Tracey’s other books.