Frank Marr, an involuntarily retired police detective for a cocaine habit, is now clean and works as a Private Investigator when not indulging in a little Robin Hood-like wealth redistribution. He is surprised to see the missed call on his cell. His ex-girlfriend, Leslie Costello, hadn't called him in over a year, but he is happy to call her back. The response is curt and professional; the news is not good.

Frank Marr's best friend and former partner on the Washington D.C. Police Department, Al Luna, is on administrative leave for allegedly having shot and killed an unarmed African American teenager and Leslie, the District Attorney and Frank's ex, wants Marr to investigate what happened. Unlike Marr, who has more than his share of flaws, Al has a well-known reputation for being a clean cop with an unblemished record. He swears to Marr he saw a gun before he shot, but where did the gun go?

With protesters angrily picketing outside police headquarters, Marr knows a leak will soon happen and Luna's house will be targeted. Meanwhile, more incidents of cops being deliberately murdered are happening. Can Marr figure out what is really happening before the proverbial sh*t hits the fan?

TRIGGER is the third novel in the highly regarded Frank Marr series by David Swinson. As a former police officer and an investigator himself, Swinson knows firsthand of what he writes. He vividly paints a very realistic description of the harshness of drug life, police confidential informants (Cis) and other dealings in the dark underbelly of this famous capital city. With its fast-paced action and quick flashbacks, TRIGGER is eminently readable as well as a standalone novel.

Marr is a very intriguing protagonist with his own techniques for getting information. Almost surprising himself, he recruits Calvin, a wary, but quick-witted ex-gang shooter, to help him. In fact, one of the best highlights in TRIGGER are the dagger-sharp dialogues between them as they grudgingly start to respect each other.

WARNING! If you are a fan of police procedurals or dark gritty stories, TRIGGER is for you! I did not want to stop from reading it from the first page to the end and, when life intervened, picked TRIGGER up again as fast as possible. Swinson is an author who is definitely worth checking out and I will be on the lookout for more of his books!