Isabella Maldonado

Winner of the Mariposa Award for Best First Novel Phoenix detective Veranda Cruz is dead set on taking down the Villalobos crime family, but the ruthlessness of her quarry demands a ruthless edge of her own. No one in the department suspects the real motivation behind the obsession that pits her against Bartolo Villalobos, heir apparent to a powerful criminal empire . . . until an operation goes horribly wrong. Targeted by an increasingly unstable foe, Veranda must protect her family and navigate adversaries within the force while she sets a trap for Bartolo. As the action heats up, Veranda and her new Homicide team—along with an arson investigator who kindles a flame of his own—are all drawn into a deadly gambit. Taking down Bartolo is the ultimate goal, but is Veranda ready to trade her life for justice? Contains mature themes.