Inside Sam Lerner by Gwen Banta is the kind of novel for readers who love psychologically rich crime stories. Former Los Angeles homicide detective Sam Lerner is a wounded man who would have loved to forget the past, but it won’t forget him. Unable to deal with the grief of his wife’s death, Sam moves back to New Orleans where he’d stay in the Gentleman’s Club, an escort service owned by his friend. He becomes an alcoholic in an effort to deal with his wife’s death. He builds a friendship with a young escort, a Creole called Madsen Cassaise, who seems to care about him. Things start going wrong when he is informed of Madsen’s drowning. But then other escorts start disappearing and Sam’s old detective instincts come alive. He gets involved in an investigation which will uncover stunning facts, including false death certificates and missing corpses. Follow this tale of crime to the startling criminal world that Sam will discover. And who is the mastermind behind all this?

Gwen Banta writes beautifully and I enjoyed the confidence that flows through her writing, the appropriateness when it comes to word choice, the diction, and the vivid descriptions that capture gestures and images and allow readers great insights into the setting. The plot is complex enough to keep readers intrigued as they follow the protagonist through unusual places in search of clues. Inside Sam Lerner features very compelling characters and readers will enjoy the protagonist, a character that enables readers to understand the anatomy of grief. It’s an entertaining and engrossing crime fiction novel.