: After a date with a male prostitute who is later found murdered, Rios is wrongly accused of the crime. To clear his name, he hunts a serial killer targeting gay men in Los Angeles, uncovering a conspiracy involving Hollywood power elites and homophobic police officers. Key Themes and Style A Gay Mystery Novelist Who Chronicles the Aftermath of AIDS

: Rios’s health crisis leads to a reconciliation with his estranged sister, Elena. Through her, he discovers he has a niece, Vicky , whom Elena had given up for adoption decades earlier.

The seventh installment in Michael Nava's acclaimed Henry Rios mystery series is titled (2001). Note that some references also cite The Burning Plain as the seventh book in certain chronologies or editions. Plot Overview: Rag and Bone

In what was originally intended as the final novel of the series, Henry Rios is a 49-year-old defense attorney facing his own mortality following a severe heart attack. The story shifts focus from the legal procedural to a more intimate exploration of family and redemption.

: The central mystery begins when Vicky confesses to killing her abusive, drug-addicted husband. Rios takes her case, but his investigation reveals a more complex web of secrets, potentially involving gang activity and ambiguous evidence at the crime scene.