Shallow Grave: A Matt Sinclair Mystery

by Brian Thiem

Overview

Beloved detective Matt Sinclair returns for a thrilling third adventure in this acclaimed police procedural series

When the Oakland coroner's office uncovers a body buried in a shallow grave in the outskirts of the city, homicide sergeant Matt Sinclair expects to find a drug dealer caught in the crosshairs of a turf war. Instead, the victim is identified as Phil Roberts, the commander of the police department's intelligence unit and Sinclair's former partner.

Police brass want to pin the murder on a dead member of an outlaw motorcycle gang and they want the case closed quickly, but Sinclair and his current partner, Cathy Braddock, aren't satisfied with that answer. As Sinclair delves into the details of Roberts's past, secrets from his work and personal life come to the surface—secrets that some people will go to any length to keep buried. But Sinclair won't stop until he finds the truth, even if it means sacrificing his former partner's reputation and possibly his own career.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683311454
Publisher:	CROOKED LANE BOOKS
Publication date:	07/11/2017
Series:	A Matt Sinclair Mystery , #3
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	228,551
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Brian Thiem, author of the acclaimed Matt Sinclair mystery series, spent 25 years with the Oakland Police Department, working Homicide as a detective sergeant and later as the commander of the Homicide Section. He also spent 28 years of combined active and reserve duty in the Army, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. His final assignment was a tour in Iraq as the deputy commander of the Criminal Investigation Group (CID) for the Middle East. He lives in South Carolina. This is his third novel.

Editorial Reviews

05/15/2017
In Thiem’s cleverly plotted third Matt Sinclair mystery (after 2016’s Thrill Kill), the hardheaded Oakland, Calif., homicide sergeant investigates the murder of Phil Roberts, his former partner and mentor who was the current supervisor of police intel. An easy answer presents itself when Reggie “Animal” Clement, the sergeant-at-arms at a biker bar, fatally shoots Shane Gibbs, a motorcycle gang member who appears likely to have killed Roberts. Sinclair’s not one for easy answers, though. When he and partner Cathy Braddock begin to uncover evidence connecting Animal and councilman Preston Yates, the police chief—who’s adept at playing politics—suspends him. Sinclair tries to go it alone, but he soon runs into opposition from entrenched interests. Thiem provides a cynical take on the city’s power structure, along with trenchant prose (“He’d heard people in AA describe the personality of a typical alcoholic as an egomaniac with an inferiority complex. That was exactly how Sinclair felt right now”). Agent: Paula Munier, Talcott Notch Literary Agency. (July)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Shallow Grave:
“As a former homicide officer, Thiem draws on his experience to build his detailed plot and realistic characters that will be appreciated by fans of authentic police procedurals.”
—Library Journal

"Cleverly plotted...trenchant prose."
—Publishers Weekly

"Readers will love the fast-moving plot of this tale...with old and new cast members that will have even more readers jumping onto the Matt Sinclair mysteries train."
—Suspense Magazine

"If you like mystery, suspense, drama, a tough approach with a tender underside, then try this book and you’ll find that you will want to read the other books by Brian Thiem."
—Night Owl Reviews

Praise for Thrill Kill:
"Thiem’s hard-hitting...portrayal of a decent man’s efforts to uphold civilization in a decaying urban jungle rings all too disturbingly true."
—Publishers Weekly starred review

"Another satisfying read in a top-notch new series. Be well, Detective Sinclair, and come back soon. We need you."
—Booklist

"Thiem’s tough-but-tender hero’s dedication to a routine so grueling it feels authentic puts the procedure back in procedural."
—Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Red Line:
"Thiem skillfully guides the realistic action to the unexpected ending. Readers will want to see more of his richly drawn main character."
—Publishers Weekly

"This hard-edged beauty makes reviewers think maybe they’ve been too nice to all those suffering cop/lawyer/PI types who swarm the genre...none are as interesting as Sinclair’s psy-war with the world."
—Booklist

“Some books require a few pages to really get going. Such is NOT the case with Brian Thiem’s gripping police procedural...Red Line is that good...[Thiem] knows prose. He knows characters and drama. He understands suspense, its power and how to wield it. He knows police life grit. Fictional latitude and realism huddle happily here.”
—Noir Journal

"A compelling read from beginning to end, Red Line is very highly recommended."
—Midwest Book Review

"[Thiem’s] skill as a story teller makes me look forward to more. Reading this book was not unlike the thrill you get when a car takes off with the pedal to the floor."
—Crimespree Magazine

"The real deal—and one that could only be written by a cop. This street-wise police procedural offers readers a unique and inside view of the high-stress, high-stakes search for the bad guys."
—Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony, Macavity, and Mary Higgins Clark award-winning author of Truth Be Told

“Brian Thiem hits the bull’s-eye in his true-to-life debut. A mystery with authenticity, grit, drama—Red Line has it all. A gripping police procedural from a real pro.”
—Robert Dugoni, #1 Amazon and NYT bestselling author of My Sister’s Grave

From the Publisher

06/01/2017
Oakland homicide sergeant Matt Sinclair is unexpectedly sent to the crime scene when someone calls in the discovery of a body in a shallow grave. Matt recognizes the victim as his former partner Phil Roberts who headed the police department's intelligence unit. Although his fellow cops want to find the culprit, it's Matt who goes behind the police chief's back and pushes the investigation into forbidden areas. As a result, he's suspended, which leaves him with time to hunt for the killers. Thiem's third police procedural is linked closely to its predecessor, Thrill Kill. VERDICT As a former homicide officer, Thiem draws on his experience to build his detailed plot and realistic characters that will be appreciated by fans of authentic police procedurals.—LH

Library Journal

2017-05-02
Oakland PD Sgt. Matt Sinclair's third case awakens painful, and painfully specific, memories of his second.After he's labored in vain (Thrill Kill, 2016, etc.) to link Councilman Preston Yates and power-broker industrialist Sergio Kozlov to the murder of prostitute Dawn Gustafson, Yates' pregnant mistress, it's something of a relief when Sinclair is asked to deal with a much more routine crime: the death of Shane Gibbs, a member of the Savage Simba gang who was reportedly shot at the Iron Horse Bar by Reggie "Animal" Clement. Sure, Animal's lawyered up, but everybody knows who did the deed, and it's only a matter of time before Oakland's finest wear him down. A second corpse, however, darkens the case considerably, and not only because it's the body of Sgt. Phil Roberts, Sinclair's old mentor and ex-partner. Roberts, ditched in a shallow grave, was shot, then suffocated, and the prints on the trash bag containing his remains are quickly traced to Shane Gibbs. Case closed, announces Police Chief Clarence Brown, but Sinclair's not having any of it. The fact that one of Animal's private-security clients was Maureen Yates convinced him that he can tie Sinclair's death to her husband, even after he's warned to leave the councilman alone and then, when he doesn't, asked for his badge and gun. Sinclair's FBI buddy, Upton Bellamy, offers to reinstate him as an acting U.S. deputy marshal, but Sinclair would rather go it on his own. In the process he finds that Preston Yates is indeed involved this time too—and that Roberts was keeping some dark secrets from his old friend. Part sequel, part remake of the hero's last case. It will be a distinct pleasure to see him move on to fresh targets next time.

Kirkus Reviews