The Burn by Kathleen Kent
Dallas's toughest female detective takes on a string of mysterious assassinations in the second novel of the 'violent, sexy, and completely absorbing' Betty Rhyzyk series (Kirkus Reviews).
Not much can make Detective Betty Rhyzyk flinch. But when forced into therapy, a desk assignment, and domestic bliss following a terrifying run-in with an apocalyptic cult, she's having trouble readjusting to life as it once was. At home, she struggles to connect with her loving wife, Jackie. At work, someone has been assassinating confidential informants. To make matters worse, Betty's partner seems to be increasingly dependent on the painkillers he was prescribed for injuries he sustained narrowly rescuing her.
Betty's at the point of breaking when she decides to go rogue, on a chase that will lead her to the dark heart of a drug cartel terrorizing Dallas, and straight to the crooked cops who plan to profit from it all.
Praise for Kathleen Kent:
'Gripping... Briskly paced, The Burn barely allows the reader to take a breath as believable twists careen throughout' Associated Press
'Readers will clamor for the irresistible Betty's next chapter' Publishers Weekly
'Exciting [and] moving... Grisly but likable' Wall Street Journal
'Kent continues to reinvent and subvert traditional noir expectations... Action-driven mystery anchored by dynamic, deep characters' Kirkus Reviews
'A gripping, powerfully human procedural' Booklist