I really enjoy a good, well paced mystery, and P. A. Brown has delivered in this book, one of a series featuring gay LAPD Detective David Eric Laine. Featuring human trafficking, murder, gangs, a crumbling personal relationship and a new, not very wise working partner who's determined to get between Laine and his lover, there's enough complication here for two books, but it's handled so deftly, and the writing is so immediate, that all the threads remain distinct and effective in the telling. The settings are vivid, the characters well drawn, and I particularly liked the fact that there were several levels of villainy, which kept me on edge for nearly the entire book. I confess that I've been so tied up with other reading and writing the last few years that I was not aware of Brown's previous work – it's a hazard of the writing editor's life that we can bury ourselves in our own specialty or genre without realizing it – but now that I've been introduced to her by way of this one, I'm determined to go back and read those I've missed. I do highly recommend L. A. Boneyard to your attention even if you don't ordinarily read mysteries – you won't regret the time invested, believe me. On the newly created scale (my own, that is) of one through five sunflowers, this is a definite five.