"So good it makes the heart leap." --Time   A Santa Barbara PI falls in with one of California's most dangerous families Two years ago, Kate Blanchard and her partner failed to stop a tragedy. When a man killed his family and then himself, Kate didn't even fire a shot. Two years later, Kate is divorced, and trying to make it as a private detective.   Young, wealthy Laura Sparks hires Kate to look into the suspicious death of her lover, a marijuana smuggler who committed suicide in jail. As Kate gets sucked into the darkness of the Sparks family, she learns that the rich and powerful can be just as dangerous as a madman with a gun.