Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department detective Eve Ronin is back in a new mystery from author Lee Goldberg. Ronin is the cop, who became a social media star, that begrudgingly agreed to a TV series based on her life. Ronin has very few friends in the LASD, she’s seen for using her situation to gain a promotion ahead of more experienced officers.
Fallen Star (2025, Thomas & Mercer) finds Ronin and partner investigating a murder that has political, Russian mafia, and personal ties as it spins a larger web the deeper the investigation goes.
In my reviews, I usually don’t describe the plot to reveal any clues or spoilers, which makes it challenging to describe the book. Ronin is a young woman who is driven and passionate about finding truth, but as another famous fictional detective says, it’s a strength and also a weakness. She has to prove herself daily, not just to those who feel she doesn’t deserve the detective shield, but her own high expectations.
This is a difficult book to put down, it was for me. There’s no doubt that Goldberg is a fine mystery writer, his resume clearly shows that, but how does one keep building a main character without resorting to tricks and pushing plausibility? Goldberg has found that secret – this is his best Eve Ronin mystery ever, I cannot recommend it enough.
With every Goldberg book, I learn something more about police work or the investigative science in solving crimes. Some books drown the reader in science or showy facts to impress, but that’s not how Goldberg operates, techniques and methodology are blended into the storytelling at necessary moments, not to stick out drawing attention to themselves.
If you are looking for an engrossing police procedural, realistic, yet expansive storytelling, crack this one open.
Ticket 2 Ride 
Leave a comment