The Pain Scale

Long Beach homicide detective Danny Beckett can’t escape the pain. It’s everywhere: in the injuries that earned him a year-long medical leave; in the suffering of every victim he’s ever encountered; in the agony of his past. But he must keep the pain at bay to prove he still has what it takes to do the job. So it’s only fitting that his first major case back is a gruesome one: a California congressman’s daughter-in-law and grandchildren have been brutally murdered, and the carnage is some of the worst Danny’s ever seen. Is it a mob hit? Political retribution? A random sex crime? Nothing quite adds up…until Danny and his partner, Jennifer Tanaka, begin scratching at the surface of the congressman’s picture-perfect family. Beneath the shiny, camera-ready veneer, Danny discovers a dark, twisted tale of suffering — even as the pain of his own past threatens to derail the investigation.