The book open with a lengthy and compelling prologue. It begins at the turn of the century and we learn the story of Eureka, Carifornia -- a small town in the center of the state that was controlled (and basically won in a high stakes poker game) by the valley's richest resident. We see the millionaire's relationship with his son and his son's best friend, a young man named Brodie Culhane. Culhane goes off to fight in the first World War, and what follows is one of the great and most terrifying battle scenes in a long, long time. After the war, Culhane returns to Eureka, where he is being groomed to be the sheriff. The prologue culminates with a tragedy that occurs at the local whorehouse. It's unclear exactly what happens, but it changes Culhane's life, and the history of Eureka, forever. The book now jumps ahead 20 years to 1941. Zeke Bannon, top cop for the LAPD, answers a routine call about a middle-aged woman found accidentally drowned in her bathtub. But as Zeke investigates, it turns out that the death wasn't an accident. It was a murder. And the search for the murderer leads north, straight to Eureka and Culhane -- who is now one of the most powerful men in the state... Zeke Bannon and Culhane are two of Diehl's best creations. They are three-dimensional, fascinating characters. At the core of "Eureka" is their relationship and their ultimate confrontation. Culhane is trying to preserve the past while Bannon is trying to forge ahead into the future. The book is populated with typical Diehi characters -- eccentric and dangerous. The era is evoked wonderfully. Bannon's romance with a wealthy young banker is enticing. And the events of past and future come together --culminating in a truly spectacular scene at the end, in an asylum that bums to the ground -- Diehl has managed to create another superb thriller and another sure-fire bestseller.