Dirty Metal - Hardcover

by Allison Lamothe (Author)

"Standout debut. . . LaMothe is a startling and original talent." --CrimeReads

New York City, 1992. The city is rough. Parker Snow is rougher.

Parker Snow is the best crime reporter at her tabloid, The New York Street. Or at least she was. Since a colossal screwup landed her on the sidelines, she's been demoted to covering the Russian mob that's flooded Brighton Beach after the fall of the USSR.

When Parker stumbles on the body of a 20-year-old woman in Brooklyn with no witnesses or suspects, the cops want to write off as just another pin in the crime map. But Parker doesn't buy it--especially when a second woman turns up dead under nearly identical circumstances, this time in Chinatown.

Will Parker stay in her lane?

Doubtful.

Now she's running down two stories at once: a simmering mafia turf war, and a possible serial murderer stalking the city. Fighting the pull of the little orange pill bottle she always has in her pocket, Parker will stop at nothing to find out the truth.

That is, if her demons--or the killer--don't get to her first.

A CrimeReads 2026 Most Anticipated Thriller - "A bold debut befitting its bold heroine." --Kirkus (starred review) - "A razor-sharp debut." -- Lauren Nossett, ITW Thriller Award-winning author - "Vibrating with heart, grit, and an uncompromising moral clarity." -- Alafair Burke, NYT bestselling author

Author Biography

Allison LaMothe is a writer based in Miami by way of New York. After studying French and English with a concentration in poetry writing at the University of Virginia, she spent a year in Russia before moving on to New York City. When not writing or reading three books at a time she can generally be found in the dance studio, in the kitchen, or under water. Dirty Metal is her first novel.