Rough Cut

Chef and FBI secret informant Sag Pfister is propelled into the glamorous life of the rich but soon finds herself in a disturbing and toxic web of deceit in this intricately plotted thriller!

Chef and reluctant FBI informant Sagarine Pfister has a new assignment: Infiltrate one of Chicago's wealthiest families and uncover what billionaire diamond kingpin Richard Nottingham is planning behind closed doors.

The FBI knows Nottingham is a long-dormant Russian sleeper agent who's just been activated, and now it seems he's planning something lethal--but for whom, and on what scale?

Despite a series of bloody clues left around the city by someone who may be on their side, the FBI is clueless. Sag needs to blend in and expose Nottingham's plan before it goes into motion, and before she gets caught. Because if he even suspects who she really is, he has the power to erase her--without a trace.

For fans of Janet Evanovich and "audiences who wish the TV series The Bear could make room for Russian mobsters" (Kirkus Reviews). A witty, tense rollercoaster of a ride!

About the author

Wendy Church, PhD, is the author of the Jesse O'Hara Mysteries, the first of which, Murder on the Spanish Seas, was named a Booklist Top 10 Debut Mystery & Thriller of 2023. She is also the author of the Shadows of Chicago Mysteries. Knife Skills, the first in the series, received a Starred Review from Kirkus Reviews. She lives in Seattle, Washington with her partner and several animals.

Product details

• Authors: Church Wendy
• Publisher: Canongate
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 03.02.2026
• EAN: 9781448315635
• ISBN: 978-1-4483-1563-5
• No. of pages: 272
• Series: A Shadows of Chicago Mystery
• Subjects: Fiction > Suspense; Chicago, FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths, FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Amateur Sleuth, FICTION / Thrillers / Crime, FICTION / Thrillers / Terrorism, Thriller / suspense, Relating to lesbians, Crime and mystery: women sleuths, Crime and mystery: hard-boiled crime, noir fiction, Crime and mystery: private investigator / amateur detectives, FICTION / LGBTQ+ / Lesbian, c 2020 to c 2029, Thriller: terrorism