Death in Uptown — Michael Raleigh

A killer terrorizes a diverse Chicago neighborhood in this “impressive first mystery” (Publishers Weekly).
 
Private investigator Paul Whelan's specialty is tracking down missing persons. But when his good friend is found slain in an alley, Whelan is steered down a path of violence as he searches for answers in a murder case.
 
His investigation is interrupted by the arrival of an attractive young woman who is on her own search for her missing kid brother. But as clues lead Whelan to believe the two cases may be connected, the body count rises quickly, and he finds himself racing to catch a killer before he strikes again . . .
 
“Raleigh seems to have gotten so deeply inside his hero and his seamy world that there may be nothing left for a sequel. But it would be great to be wrong about that.” -- Kirkus Reviews