"A brilliant first novel. Joseph Schneider's contemporary writing evokes some of Hollywood's most classic crime stories, from Chinatown to LA Confidential."—Dick Wolf, creator of Law & OrderAn incredible debut from up-and-coming author Joseph Schneider. Detective Tully Jarsdel may not be a typical Los Angeles cop—but he's the only one who can solve this caseA body so badly burned that it could be mistaken for a movie prop... except for the smell. That's not something California law enforcement finds lying on the street every day. And when Detective Tully Jarsdel is called to the scene, it's clear to him that something about the placement of the corpse is intentional, even ritualistic. Jarsdel isn't a classic noir detective, but his former career in academia seems to finally be coming in handy, rather than serving as material for jokes from his partner, Morales.But nothing Jarsdel learned in school can prepare him for the deep evil behind this case, which appears to be as hopeless as it