Working for his mentor at La Jolla Investigations after losing his job as a cop, PI Rick Cahill is one of the best "peepers" in San Diego, but he wants to do something other than taking bedroom pics of cheaters. Still troubled by his wife's unsolved murder years ago, which some still believe he was responsible for, Rick is intrigued when attorney Timothy Buckley, an old acquaintance, requests his help with an unusual investigation. It means Rick will have to take time off to freelance the case, which his boss/mentor reluctantly agrees to let him do -- with firm admonitions.

Buckley is trying to free Randall Eddington from prison believing he was wrongly convicted eight years ago of viciously murdering his adopted parents and younger sister when he was 18 years old. Randall's grandfather is footing the bill for a new investigation hoping it will lead to a new trial, but many people are in strong opposition to this taking place.

Chief of Police Tony Moretti was lead detective on the Eddington case, which built his reputation and propelled him to his position of power. The last thing Moretti wants is to have the high-profile case reopened, especially by Cahill. Once Cahill is involved, though, he cannot quit. It is something that finally gives him purpose. The harder the cops squeeze Cahill's investigation, the more convinced he is that something else is at play in the situation -- and Randall Eddington just may be innocent. However, Cahill could never have foreseen the danger he'd encounter, the devastating outcome that would occur, or how it would turn his world upside down and leave him questioning decisions in his life.

NIGHT TREMORS is Matt Coyle's second superb thriller featuring the flawed, but likable, PI Rick Cahill. Coyle keeps the plot progressing at a solid pace with tight prose and a sufficient amount of unforeseen twists and turns to sustain readers' interest to the shocking conclusion. Fans of PI thrillers, like myself, will find NIGHT TREMORS an excellent reading experience -- and eagerly anticipating the next Rick Cahill novel.

Book Summary

Nightmares of the man he killed two years ago still chase Rick Cahill through his sleep. The memory of his murdered wife haunts him during waking hours. His private investigative work, secretly photographing adulterers, paid for his new house but stains his soul.

When an old nemesis asks for his help to free a man from prison, a man he thinks is wrongly convicted of murder, Rick grabs at the chance to turn his life around. His investigation takes him from the wealthy enclave of La Jolla to the dark underbelly of San Diego. His quest fractures his friendship with his mentor, endangers his steady job, and draws the ire of the Police Chief who had tried to put Rick behind bars forever. With the police on one side of the law and a vicious biker gang on the other, all trying to stop him from freeing the man in prison, Rick risks his life to uncover the truth that only the real killer knows — what happened one bloody night eight years earlier.