After nursing several Diet Cokes, Matt decides Barry is not going to show and heads back out to his truck where he finds Barry's bloody body. He calls the police who, of course, promptly arrest him for Barry's murder. His sister-in-law posts bond for him, but instead of trying to stay out of trouble and take care of himself and his son, Matt manages to find trouble at every turn.

First he learns his ex-girlfriend, Noel, has AIDS, then he realizes that someone, maybe even Barry, has been embezzling money from his construction business. Against the conditions of his bond, Matt tracks one of his employees from San Diego to Las Vegas, where he is connected with yet two more deaths. As the bodies around Matt continue to pile up, he realizes he is no longer in control of his life and fights with all he has to regain control before it's too late.

Nailed starts out at a quick pace, but quickly derails as Matt's quest to learn what happened to Barry dissolves into an inquiry into Calla's death, to which such blatant clues are left, there is no surprise when the culprit is revealed. Side trips, such as tone Matt's father-in-law Howie, takes with Trina to reveal how her mother really died many years ago also add to an unfocused plot. The resolution to Barry's murder ends up taking a backseat to the rest of the plot and may leave some readers unsatisfied.

Matt is not a believable character as he constantly puts himself in bad places and then acts surprised when the police become suspicious of him whenever there's a dead body near by. The characters around Matt are strange and some never quite fit into the plot, like Noel and a woman apparently engaged to Howie who appears only once or twice.

Matt also seems a little too willing to trust the care of his young son to others while he violates his bail and puts his own life in danger. The setting is very detailed and authentic and will be familiar to those who have spent time in the San Diego or Las Vegas areas.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry