It’s hard being the new kid in town. Ask Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock. In fact, she may be new to Melbourne, but she isn’t exactly a kid. She has a child of her own, back in the little village from where she just transferred. Her son is probably better off without her there all of the time, although Gemma can’t quite convince herself that’s true. She loves that little boy and misses him a lot. Their time together seems rare.

Luckily for Gemma, she loves her work. She throws herself into tackling thorny puzzles created by homicides. It's Detective Sergeant Nick Fleet, with whom she has been partnered, who she doesn’t love so much. This is possibly because, between the two of them, they have more baggage than a Boeing 747’s cargo hold. Still, they work well together. Most of the time.

"INTO THE NIGHT is both hair-raising and downright entertaining. Sarah Bailey could be a new favorite author for a lot of readers."

Well, they’re going to need to work together now because a homeless man has been murdered. Brutally stabbed. The attack appears random, which makes it tough for Gemma and Nick to get a handle on motive. But before the detectives have a chance to thoroughly sink their teeth into this case, a high-profile actor, Sterling Wade, is stabbed while shooting a scene. It happened before hundreds of witnesses, yet in the confusion, they have just as many versions of the attack.

To Gemma’s dubious delight, the Chief Inspector puts Nick and her in charge of the Wade case and relegates the homeless man’s murder to a lesser priority, which causes a surge of guilt on Gemma’s part. Why doesn’t the street person get as much attention as the famous guy? She knows the answer. And a lot of it has to do with politics. Maybe if they can wrap up the Wade case quickly, they can get back to their homeless murder.

Then, despite the long hours with little sleep, Gemma thinks she notices some sort of parallel between the two killings. Can that be right? The men shared no common ground. How could their paths have crossed in a city as large as Melbourne, living in worlds so far apart, existing in circles so vastly different? Perhaps the connection is there, but maybe it isn’t. Forensics will have to tell.

Gemma and Nick focus on Wade, who was on the brink of big-time fame. Who would want him dead? Certainly not his director. This film signified a huge break for both of them. His agent? He’s her gravy train. What about his fiancé? That makes no sense. They just got engaged --- albeit secretly --- last week, so this should be a time of ultimate happiness for them. They shared their apartment with another actor, but he too claims to be as devastated by Wade’s death as anyone. As for the rest of the Wade family, they haven’t been exactly close, but that just gives them less of a motive to kill him. Right?

The nail-biting action packed into this book stems not only from the bold killer executing a murder in plain sight, but also from the self-destructive detectives themselves. Brilliant as they both are, they have a tendency to make all the wrong choices, at least during their off-duty hours. They seriously need to get their lives together, or they may be cut short. INTO THE NIGHT is both hair-raising and downright entertaining. Sarah Bailey could be a new favorite author for a lot of readers.