finished reading

This is the first of a new-to-me series.  I thought the characters were compelling and complex and not stereotypical.  The mystery unfolds in a twisty way, I didn't see it coming.  Detective Maggie Nolan is reeling from the death of her dear brother in Afghanistan which actually gives her a link to another military character, Sam Easton.  Sam is a veteran with severe PTSD, which is almost a character on its own.  Sam's friend Melody Traeger is a colleague and friend of Sam's with her own troubled past.  I wondered several times if these characters were reliable narrators.  And then the end came!

From the publisher:

Sam Easton—a true survivor—is home from Afghanistan, trying to rebuild a life in his hometown of LA. Separated from his wife, bartending and therapy sessions are what occupy his days and nights. When friend and colleague Melody Traeger is beaten by her boyfriend, she turns to Sam for help. When the boyfriend turns up dead the next day, a hard case like Sam is the perfect suspect.

But LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan, whose brother recently died serving overseas, is sympathetic to Sam's troubles, and can't quite see him as a killer. She's more interested in the secrets Melody might be keeping and the developments in another murder case on the other side of town.