Compound Fractures (Alan Gregory #20) by Stephen White

Alan is standing in his office, talking to his wife, when his partner's wife walks up behind her and shoots her in the back.  He has no idea why and is in shock when the medics take his wife to the hospital.  How could this have happened?

Dutton Books sent me an ARC of this book for review (thank you).  It was published in August, so you can grab a copy now.  This is the twentieth in the series and the first one I've read by Stephen White.

Alan finds himself reassessing his life.  What he thought was true and what is are different.  Even those he loved and trusted the most were not trustworthy.  He and his police friend have a secret from the past that has come to life again.  No matter how far you bury things, they somehow don't stay hidden.

Not only does Alan have those problems, he finds out his wife had an affair with his partner, apparently for years.  He's got the DA going after his butt, even attempting to pin his wife's murder on him when he was a victim.  There are other players from the past, more murders, and the tension keeps ratcheting up.

Mr. White does a nice job of tying it all up at the end of this story.  There are still some secrets bubbling in the background, but blackmail will take care of that.

All in all, this is a big batch of dysfunctional characters that sound like people I've met before.  Who knows what's behind that confident posture and brave words?  These characters have their share of secrets.  Read it, you won't be bored.

Happy reading.