Black Dog — Thomas Laird

Black Dog lives in the deep pit of the human soul, where desolation and depression also hang out. In this third Jimmy Parisi novel the Chicago detective is fighting against fatigue and homicide burnout. His latest case involves a killer -- Black Dog -- who is draining the blood from young women before leaving them to die. There are signs that a crude needle is being used in the process, and it looks like the work of someone who knows the art of mortuary science. Jimmy and his partner suspect that the blood is connected to satanic ritual and that vampire cults that celebrate the black arts are alive and well in sophisticated twenty-first-century Chicago. At the same time the homicide investigator is called to work on the murder of an inner-city senior citizen. The killing is listed as “low profile,” but that is soon to change. And then Black Dog gets personal with Jimmy -- something very bad happens in his home life and the Chicago cop feels like a candle lit at both ends. Two killers to catch and a family tragedy to get through. It's one hell of a ride, and in the end will Jimmy still be standing?