The Second Girl

He's a good detective... with a bad habit.

Frank Marr may be a decorated former cop and the best private investigator Washington, D.C. has ever known, but the city doesn't know his dirty secret.

A high-functioning drug addict, Frank has devoted his considerable skills to hiding his habit from others. But after accidentally discovering a kidnapped teenage girl in the home of a drug gang, Frank becomes a hero and is thrust into the spotlight.

Reluctantly, he agrees to investigate the disappearance of another girl - possibly connected to the first - all the time knowing that the heightened scrutiny may bring his own secrets to light...

THE SECOND GIRL is a raw, real and incredibly gripping thriller from a former DC Major Crimes detective. You won't regret meeting Frank Marr...but his enemies will.

“A gripping, authentic tale (the author is an ex-cop) of a man's journey into the heart of darkness that will appeal to fans of The Wire”

A down-and-dirty thriller with real heart from an author who knows what he's talking about. This is firmly in George Pelecanos territory and it doesn't get much better than that - Mark Billingham

David Swinson pulls off a masterly piece of characterization: he creates a damaged, damned protagonist who no sane person would want to get close to, and then he grabs you by the collar and hauls you into Frank Marr's mind so fast and so thoroughly that none of that matters. The writing throws sparks, and the ferocious plot peels back layer after layer of Frank's character as we - and he - find out how much of his humanity is still left. - Tana French

Once you're drawn into Frankie Marr's world (in, oh, the first few pages of this fine novel), you won't want to leave. Marr is one of the most compelling and complex protagonists to come along in years. And, not content with just creating a memorable hero, author Swinson also offers up a breakneck plot, which he recounts in muscular prose and with a commanding knowledge of cops, bad guys and the streets of Washington, D.C. Reminiscent of The Wire and the writing of George Pelecanos and Dennis Lehane, The Second Girl is a winner - Jeffery Deaver

Like the very best of classic crime writing, THE SECOND GIRL made me want to read faster and slower at the same time. Now I want David Swinson to write faster - Michael Robotham

A non-stop drive through American crime, punishment and even an alley or two of justice. - James Grady

David Swinson is a retired police detective who served 16 years with the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department. He currently lives in Northern Virginia with his wife, daughter and bull mastiff.

He's a good detective... with a bad habit.Frank Marr may be a decorated former cop and the best private investigator Washington, D.C. has ever known, but the city doesn't know his dirty secret.A high-functioning drug addict, Frank has devoted his considerable skills to hiding his habit from others. But after accidentally discovering a kidnapped teenage girl in the home of a drug gang, Frank becomes a hero and is thrust into the spotlight. Reluctantly, he agrees to investigate the disappearance of another girl - possibly connected to the first - all the time knowing that the heightened scrutiny may bring his own secrets to light...THE SECOND GIRL is a raw, real and incredibly gripping thriller from a former DC Major Crimes detective. You won't regret meeting Frank Marr...but his enemies will.

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