The Mysterious Press
September 2026
On Sale: September 8, 2026
192 pages ISBN: 1613168055 EAN: 9781613168059 Kindle: B0GPHPRGVS Hardcover / e-Book Add to Wish List
An LAPD detective travels to coastal Alabama to investigate the death of the father she never knew in this straight‑shooting, no‑nonsense noir from the author of You Were Never Really Here.
Maria Cole's life has never been a walk in the park. Raised in foster care and with a history of abuse, her journey to the force was winding and loaded with heartache. When the LAPD detective is involved in a tragic shooting and, soon after, learns that her estranged ex‑con father has been murdered, she finds her past surging back in a double‑bout of grief.
There is an estate to settle, and investigating her dad's untimely death presents the opportunity to get out of LA for a bit, so Maria travels to his rural home in coastal Alabama and starts asking questions. But the tight‑lipped locals don't take kindly to inquisitive outsiders, and she'll have to tangle with corrupt small‑town officials, bigoted cops, and home‑grown criminal conspiracies to get answers. In the process, she uncovers shocking revelations about her father's life‑and her own.
Gripping, tightly‑plotted, and action‑packed, A Past Without Pictures is a twisty noir narrative that condenses its sprawling scope into a forcefully fast‑paced novella.
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