THE GOVERNOR'S WIFE

A seasoned PI tackles Chicago corruption head-on when he's hired to look into the disappearance of a popular but dirty governor.

Harvey (We All Fall Down, 2011, etc.) brings back his crack private eye, Michael Kelly, who's still smarting from his last case, a bioterrorism disaster that not only cost hundreds of lives, but also precipitated the demise of Kelly's relationship. Leery about new assignments, he's nonetheless intrigued when an anonymous email arrives asking him to track down former Illinois Gov. Ray Perry, who vanished—literally—two years earlier from the courthouse minutes after being sentenced to 37 years in prison for racketeering. The case attracted national media attention, and everyone from the Chicago PD to the FBI grilled Perry's wife, Marie, about her husband's disappearing act and came up empty-handed. Kelly isn't sure what more there is to do, but since his mysterious client is offering $200,000, he's willing to take a look. Marie is the obvious place to start: she was with Ray the day he disappeared, and no one believes that one half of a couple so in sync would have no idea what the other half was planning. Kelly also digs into the exact mechanics of Ray's escape and—in a series of twists worthy of the power-hungry cast of House of Cards—a political scheme involving a construction project and some of Chicago's wealthiest and most influential players.

Harvey makes political corruption personal: this isn't a story of anonymous millions being shuffled between various offshore accounts. The consequence of every decision in Kelly's gritty world bleeds.