This is Book 2 in the Detective McDaniel Thriller series.
The series is best read in order. Please consider reading Book 1, Hold Back the Night, before enjoying The Easy Way Out.
Still reeling from his encounter with a depraved child killer and a professional hitman on the city's waterfront, Homicide Detective Darren McDaniel is thrown back into the fray. A headless corpse washes up in a secluded cove near the industrial district. The body shows signs of extreme trauma – torture – prior to being tossed into the sea.
The brutal excess of violence disturbs McDaniel, pulling him into the investigation. But, with no head, no usable fingerprints, and advanced decomposition, the remains offer few clues to the identity of the victim, or the perpetrator.
McDaniel, and his partner, Brent Vanderwyk, begin investigating reports of missing persons, hoping to match an open case with their victim. A disturbing pattern soon emerges - multiple subjects on the fringes of society have disappeared over the past few years.
The case that started with a headless corpse on the beach quickly spins out of control, expanding to include at least five men, dead or missing. All of them are directly connected to a treacherously entangled trio – a petty drug-lord, a sheriff's detective, and a bombshell femme fatale.
McDaniel and Vanderwyk slowly unravel the tangled mess of lies, deception, trickery, and murder. As the pieces fall into place, they learn that a sixth victim has been taken.
The detectives formulate a plan to capture the killer and save his latest victim before it's too late. But as they race to the rescue, the mission quickly unravels, plunging the detectives into gunfights, car chases, mayhem on the high seas, and a nail-biting conclusion that will leave you on the edge of your seat.