The puzzling murder of a beloved teacher leaves Detroit homicide detective Sam Roma searching for answers. To her chagrin, not only does Sam have a murder to solve, she's been assigned a new homicide investigator, Tom Green, who comes with his own set of problems and challenges. As Tom makes a series of rookie mistakes, Sam wonders if she's up to mentoring a partner with personal struggles—one who she suspects is involved in departmental politics.
To top it off, Sam's personal guilt over her own history intersects with the conflicts faced by the middle school students close to the murder. She needs to navigate complicated relationships and face memoires that have haunted her for years while keeping her family's secret safe.
As Sam delves into the case, she uncovers a web of secrets and lies surrounding the school staff, students, and a former gang leader, revealing a complex game of luck, betrayal, jealousy, and unexpected twists.
A Game of Luck, the debut novel from Sandra J. Cady, will be published April 30, 2026. Black Rose Writing provided an early galley for review.
Full disclosure: Sandy is a member of the monthly writing group I moderate at the library where I work (so nice of her to mention us in the acknowledgements). I have known her for many years and had seen the start of this novel (the opening quarter) via group shares over four years ago.
One thing I appreciate about Sandy's writing is that she knows of what she writes; as a former police investigator, she has got the procedural details down cold. Also, by setting it in our own backyard, I know the facts relating to the metro Detroit area and the suburbs are going to be accurate. That puts a confidence in the narrative which carries over to the reader's experience with her book.
She also does a good job with worldbuilding, populating this corner of Michigan with a wide range of characters from all walks of life. Of course, all mysteries need a wide cast of suspects to draw the killer from. This one has plenty of possible suspects. And the end was certainly not something I saw coming.
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