Can’t Go Back

The final entry in Webb’s “Devlin & Falco” police procedural trilogy (following Gone Too Far). In Birmingham, Alabama, police detective Kerri Devlin is hoping to start over. Kerri’s ex has custody of their daughter for Thanksgiving, so Kerri invites her Birmingham PD partner, Detective Luke Falco, to spend the week. Their first morning together is interrupted by a call from the police chief, who demands the pair drop everything and meet him at the site of a house fire that injured Logan Brooke and killed his daughter and wife. The fire marshal tells Kerri and Luke that there are traces of accelerant, and Logan, in the hospital, soon confesses to arson. As Kerri and Luke investigate, they find that the evidence doesn’t support Logan’s claim, and Luke is warned by an old boss (from his dark years as an undercover cop) to stay away from the case. Threats, violence, and a dramatic climax follow.