Rex Burns

When a stripper is murdered, Gabe Wager turns the red-light district inside out

More than any other establishment on Denver’s red-light strip, the Cinnamon Club has taken advantage of the new law allowing all-nude dancing. What was once confined to back rooms now takes center stage, and the activities in the club’s private section grow ever more depraved. Annette Sheldon is the Cinnamon Club’s rising star until her body is found dumped in an alley, eyes pecked out by scavenging magpies. Homicide detective Gabe Wager and his partner pull Annette’s husband in for questioning, and though they don’t think he killed her, they do think he’s lying about something.

When a second dancer is murdered, Wager goes undercover on the strip, searching for the man with the violent fetish. The more questions he asks, though, the more he risks becoming the killer’s next target.