[2] Russo did not plan to write a second sequel to his original novel, Nobody’s Fool (1993), but he decided to return to the series because he found that the characters connected him with his late father.

Because my parents split up when I was young, I didn’t spend as much time with my father as I would have liked.Russo spent about four hours each morning crafting the novel in longhand.

In an interview, Russo reflected, "George Floyd’s murder made me realize I couldn’t write another book with main characters as police officers without addressing the presence of bad cops.

The story is set in February 2010 when the fictional town of North Bath is in the process of annexing neighboring Schuyler Springs in the name of reducing expenses.

Sully's son, Peter, struggles with whether to leave North Bath and his decision is complicated by a list of people his father left for him to check on.

The storyline mainly follows Peter Sullivan and his relationship with one of his estranged sons, Thomas, who has been raised by his mother and an abusive stepfather in West Virginia.

They eventually rekindle the romance when Charice, with her new job as chief of police, badly needs Doug in solving the identity of a suicide at the Sans Souci Hotel.

Hamilton Cain, writing for The New York Times, praised Russo as "paint[ing] a shining fresco of a working-class community, warts and all, a 30-year project come to fruition in this last, best book.