Sunrise Highway

In Blauner's second book in the series (after Proving Ground), young and ambitious Latina NYPD Det. Lourdes Robles heads to Long Island to investigate the death of a young, pregnant woman whose body has washed up on a New York City beach, leading to the discovery of a series of unsolved murders of women along the Sunrise Highway. Instead of cooperation on Long Island, Robles is stonewalled by police, the district attorney, and even the courts. Chapters jump from decade to decade between 1977 and 2017, focusing on the killer's escalation and concentration of power, the investigators who concentrate on finding the killer, and details of the crimes. The murderer is well-developed and a pleasure to root against, evoking genuine anger and frustration from readers, who will find the book difficult to put down. Robles and her personal issues are sincerely conveyed but underexplored, particularly her relationship with her boyfriend.