This book garnered an Edgar "Best Novel" nomination last year, and I've had pretty good luck with reading those. This was not my cup of tea, unfortunately. YMMV: the Amazon page will show you it got a slew of awards, and the back cover is loaded with advance praise.
The narrator is Lena Scott, and on page one she is informed (by the New York Daily News) that her estranged half sister is dead. (Headline: "FORMER REALITY STAR DESIREE PIERCE FOUND DEAD IN LINGERIE IN BRONX WITH COCAINE AND NO SHOES".) Lena lives in the Bronx; was Desiree on her way to see her? Desiree's death was due to a heroin overdose; was that an accident, suicide, or murder most foul? The cops follow the path of least resistance: accident. But Lena suspects foul play, and becomes an amateur detective, chasing down Desiree's acquaintances. Also getting reacquainted with her (also estranged) father, a wealthy hip-hop mogul, and his associates. A considerable amount of time and detail is spent on phones and social media, especially Instagram.
Eventually, the truth is revealed, but not without a climactic scene of dangerous New York driving.
Lena occasionally gets off some Chandlerisms: "Her pause was so pregnant it was two weeks overdue." But all too often she yammers on about details both irrelevant and uninteresting. Call me irredeemably sexist, but this is a common affliction with many (but not all) female detectives.
![[The Blogger and His Dog]](/ps/images/me_with_barney.jpg)
