It is set in Washington, DC and focuses on homicide detective Gus Ramone, and ex-cops Dan "Doc" Holiday and TC Cook as they investigate the possible return of a serial killer.

TC Cook was the lead investigator at the time, and two young officers, Gus Ramone and Doc Holiday, were with him at the third crime scene.

Gus Ramone is a veteran of the homicide unit and a family man married to Regina, with two children, Diego and Alana.

Diego's friends include Shaka Brown, Ronald and Richard Spriggs, and Asa Johnson.

Diego has recently changed schools and is often in trouble for minor infractions with the assistant principal Mr.

Holiday is a regular at Leo Vazoulis' bar, and his drinking associates include salesman Jerry Fink, freelance writer Bradley West, and residential contractor Bob Bonano.

The homicide squad includes detectives Paul "Bo" Green, Anthony Antonelli, Mike Bakalis, Eugene Hornsby, George Loomis, and Bill "Garloo" Wilkins.

Her investigation includes his friend Leon Mayo, his girlfriend Darcia Johnson, and her roommate Shaylene Vaughn.

Crooks: Conrad Gaskins and Romeo Brock are stick-up men who make their living robbing drug dealers.

They manage to arrest and extract a confession from her boyfriend Tyree Williams which is backed by physical evidence.

He witnesses some events before sleeping again and awakes to find the body of Asa Johnson with a gunshot wound to the temple.

Now retired and afflicted by a small stroke, Cook continues to trail the early suspect Reginald Wilson.

The night after the Johnson killing Ramone's partner, Rhonda Willis becomes the primary investigator on a new case, the murder of Jamal White.

Through a tangled chain of connections detectives trace and arrest Aldan "Beano" Tinsley who, under pressure, confesses to finding the gun when walking through the gardens - after Asa Johnson shot himself.

Remembering the number of the patrol car from his night near the gardens, Holiday manages to identify the officer driving as Grady Dunne without Ramone's help.

Ramone returns to the gardens and finds Asa Johnson's journal hidden near where his body was found.

Holiday and Cook follow Dunne to the gas station where Wilson works and are excited at the potential connection.

The novel closes with a return to 1985 and the revelation that Wilson was responsible for the palindrome murders, hiding trophies from each victim in his record collection.

[3] In the November/December 2006 issue of Bookmarks, the book received a (4.00 out of 5) with the critical summary stating, "A few critics noted a meandering plot and stylistic quirks (the victims’ names are all palindromes), but most agreed that Night Gardener "is heart-in-your-throat gripping from beginning to end" (New York Times)".