Thicker Than Blood — Penny Rudolph

"Rudolph provides a well-crafted plot and satisfying levels of suspense, but what stands out most is Rachel herself -- one of the most refreshing new series heroines to wander into the crime genre in quite a while." -- Booklist STARRED review

For Rachel Chavez, every day is a battle with her demons. She only wants to stay sober and keep her recently inherited parking lot in downtown LA financially afloat. But it's a nearly 24/7 job. Then an executive from the nearby water agency is killed by a hit-and-run driver and Rachel spots the car that did the deed in her garage. A few days later her stand-in employee dies of peculiar causes. And Rachel unknowingly becomes tangled in the conniving cross-purposes of California water politics.

When she uncovers evidence of a crime ring, Rachel believes the mystery of the two deaths is solved. But another official is killed, her own father disappears, and it becomes agonizingly clear that the killer is closing in on Rachel.