Matt Coyle is a reincarnated Raymond Chandler. Following his Anthony Award-winning debut, YESTERDAY’S ECHO, Coyle astounds readers with NIGHT TREMORS, which packs the punch of a rocket-propelled grenade.

Protagonist Rick Cahill is “A snoop. A Peeping Tom. A private investigator…sneaking around in the dark, taking pictures of naked adulterers.” He has seismic night tremors --- nightmares caused by his near murder two years before, having to kill someone then, and now a mysterious figure trying to repay the favor. Rick seeks redemption from the haunting echo of his wife’s murder a decade ago. Acquitted of Colleen’s homicide, he wasn’t exonerated. He’s a former cop, and the son of a corrupt cop who had “left behind a legacy of disgracing the badge.” Rick carries more baggage than a major airline.

"With more plot twists than a California cloverleaf, there’s one hairpin turn that left me breathless --- and Rick Cahill on the verge of taking his last breath. One of my best reads in years, NIGHT TREMORS has a spectacular 'Matt' finish."

“[S]haking hookers and junkies loose from the legal system on the ugly side of San Diego,” attorney Timothy Buckley lures Rick into taking on an investigation as shady as his character. Not long ago, Buckley’s “wardrobe looked like it had been piecemealed together by Goodwill.” Now he drinks expensive bourbon --- early and often.

Randall Eddington was convicted of brutally slaying his adoptive family, but Buckley is convinced he’s innocent. The murder weapon was never found, and the only evidence is Eddington’s sock found in his car, tainted by his family’s blood. Convenient. And San Diego cops played musical chairs during the homicide investigation, under the guidance of nemesis police chief Tony Moretti.

Trey Fellows is a dubious defense witness, and lives in a tiny cottage, where “The musk of marijuana bud and smoke hung in the air like Elizabethan curtains.” Not exactly sterling character. Well…tarnish, perhaps.

Thickening the mix is Moira MacFarlane, a feisty 90-pound PI who rubs Rick the wrong way --- with porcupine quills. “I’d dealt with crazy before. I needed braille to read this one.”

Rick’s gut says that Eddington is innocent, but does Chief Moretti railroading Eddington the way he railroaded Rick have a bearing on his decision? He tangles with the Raptors, a nefarious biker gang. He crosses into a dark realm, his life irreversibly altered. And he realizes that “Death was without comfort. Unless it ended unbearable suffering.” Does Rick suffering the loss of his beloved wife find a comforting end?

With more plot twists than a California cloverleaf, there’s one hairpin turn that left me breathless --- and Rick Cahill on the verge of taking his last breath. One of my best reads in years, NIGHT TREMORS has a spectacular “Matt” finish.