Face of Greed

Greed, corruption, and betrayal—no murder is as simple as it seems

When a prominent Sacramento businessman is killed and his wife injured in a brutal home invasion, Detective Emily Hunter and her partner, Javier Medina, are called to investigate. At first glance, it seems like a crime of opportunity gone horribly wrong, but Emily soon finds there might be more to both the crime and the dead man.

The high-stakes investigation also comes at a time when Emily is caring for her mother, who has early-onset Alzheimer’s, and Emily struggles to balance her job with her personal life. The city’s political elite seem to want the case solved quickly, but darker forces want it buried.

Could there have been a motive behind the attack, making it more than a random home invasion? Emily uncovers clues that cause her to reconsider her understanding of the crime. A deadly game of greed and deception pulls Emily deeper into the shadowy world of gang violence and retribution. She has to walk the razor’s edge to identify the killer—without becoming the next victim.

Perfect for fans of Michael Connelly and Karin Slaughter

James L’ Etoile is a former associate warden in a maximum-security prison, hostage negotiator, facility captain, and director of California’ s state parole system, and he uses his twenty-nine years “ behind bars” as an influence in his award-winning novels, short stories, and screenplays. Face of Greed is his latest novel. L’ Etoile lives with his wife outside of Sacramento, California. When he’ s not writing, you can find him working with his Corgi therapy dogs.