Lost Hills

A bloody multiple murder scene—without any bodies—is handed to brand-new Det. Eve Ronin of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Promoted based on a cellphone clip of her busting the chops of an abusive Hollywood star, the rookie investigator barely has the respect of her male coworkers. As far as her new boss is concerned, Eve’s social network–based cachet provides a welcome distraction for the reporters seeking dirt on a poorly run department. Eve dives into this first case, tripping more than once before pulling it all together in an over-the-top finale. Prolific mystery and TV writer Goldberg (“Monk” TV tie-in series) has created a young female cop who is more frantic than interesting. The book suffers from too much description (does the reader really need to know what Aleve is for?), which obscures what could have been a much better procedural.