The Second Girl

By: David Swinson

Narrated by: Christopher Ryan Grant

Shamus Award for Best First Private Eye Novel nominee, 2017

Barry Award for Best Novel nominee, 2017

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

Frank Marr knows crime in Washington, DC. A decorated former police detective, he retired early and now ekes a living as a private eye for a defense attorney. Frank Marr may be the best investigator the city 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 usage from others. But after accidentally discovering a kidnapped teenage girl in the home of an Adams Morgan drug gang, Frank becomes a hero and is thrust into the spotlight. He reluctantly agrees to investigate the disappearance of another girl—possibly connected to the first—but the heightened scrutiny may bring his own secrets to light, too.

Frank is as slippery and charming an antihero as you've ever met, but he's also achingly vulnerable. The result is a mystery of startling intensity, a tightly coiled thriller where every scene may turn disastrous. The Second Girl is the crime novel of the season, and marks the start of a refreshing series from an author who knows the criminal underworld inside and out.

©2016 David Swinson (P)2016 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"The Second Girl is a terrific DC crime novel."—@shoedog11 (George Pelecanos)

"Within the first couple of pages, 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, author of The Secret Place

"The book's action is forever on the boil." (Jack Batten, Toronto Star)

"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."—Jeffrey Deaver, author of The Kill Room

Great Series Starter

The plot and character development were great! The storyline was well written so as to keep you from putting down the book.

A former cop and no rules!

Wow! I ended up really liking this story and hope we hear more from this character! The author likes street names and I feel like I could navigate DC. Frank is a former cop, now private eye and he has no rules to contain him and he fully exploits that! I will definitely be on the look-out for more Frank Marr! I loved the narration...he even sounded like a cop!

A Cop on Cocaine with a conscience (some time)

What for it.....

A very interesting book. You have to keep listening as it is a ways in the book before you understand who the girls are.

While snooping through a dope house he finds a young girl being held hostage a fed drugs. Not what he hopes to find, but he can't leave her. And, he can't take her to the police with all the drugs he is holding.

When the news gets out, he is contacted by parents whose daughter went to school with the girl he rescued. Willing to pay to have him locate their daughter, he finds himself in the middle of a drug infested area of town, constantly watching over his shoulders. Using his bag of tricks from years as a police officer, he dives into the neighborhood driven by the courage given to him by cocaine. Just enough false courage to get him killed.

Gritty cop novel, a must for DC locals

You can tell this cop novel was written by someone who knows DC...and not the more infamous political side of things, but the actual living, breathing city. Great depiction of a flawed hero and of a very real human trafficking crisis that impacts even the upper middle class neighborhoods of suburban Virginia. I hope Swinton will bring back Frank Marr for another round of troubled triumph.

Fantastic book

This is one of the best book that I listen in a long time.Once you started you can not put it down. Great story and fantastic narration . You will not be disappointed .

Great Story

The writing and narration puts you right on the streets of DC working the case. Looking forward to immediately starting the next book in the series.

good and different

this is a very gritty, suspense thriller. The protagonist is a flawed man. reminds me of a modern-day Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe in a story that could truly happen in today's world. the narration was excellent.

right up there with Michael Connelly

One of the best audiobooks I’ve listen to in quite some time. A great crime fiction story. The narration was spot on.The author keeps you hooked from the very beginning to the very end. This is going to be a great new series.

A welcome and unique start to a new series…

… a favorite of mine and here’s why: Author David Swinson creates a suspenseful thriller as PI Frank Marr investigates a cold case that leads to involvement with devious and dangerous people. Marr’s secrets and flaws are solidly brought to the forefront as I could relate to. Christopher Ryan Grant’s narrative skills are perfectly precise. An exciting and audictive tale, I was hooked from beginning to end. Well worth a credit, however, I was lucky to have gotten it during Audible’s 2-for-1 sale. I’m looking forward to Swinson’s Book 2, “Crime Song.” Kudos to both author and narrator for their combined efforts. A nod to Audible for introducing me to the talents of Swinson and Grant. Epic, I say! EPIC! EPIC! EPIC!

👏✍🏻⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✍🏻👏

If you like a flawed hero...

You'll enjoy the rough antics of this coke-addicted, ex-detective turned PI. Plausible plot involving suburban teenage girls hanging out w the wrong crowd and the parents desperate to find them. You'll never look at grapefruit the same way again.