V.I. “Vic” Warshawski and her neighbor share responsibility for a currently pregnant dog—but Mr. Contreras complains that her detective work keeps her too busy to help with little Peppy. Still, that doesn’t stop him from adding more to her plate by asking her to investigate the disappearance of his friend, a fellow retiree. At the same time, Vic’s trying to look out for a vulnerable eighty-year-old down the street whose property is considered an eyesore by the newcomers gentrifying the neighborhood.

When Mr. Contreras’s friend turns up dead in a canal, and the old lady on the block winds up in the hospital, Vic is swept into a world of organized labor, money, and politics—and discovers a distressing personal connection to the case. Vic may not always succeed as a guardian angel—but when things go wrong, she can chase down the demons—in this suspenseful novel from the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master and “crime-fiction pro” (People).