The grandson and great-grandson of Chicago police officers, Chicago Police Detective James Sherlock was CPD through-and-through. His career had seen its share of twists and turns, but on this day, he was at the records center to see the case file for the murder of John Hughes, who was seventeen years old when he was gunned down in a park on Chicago’s Southwest Side on May 15, 1976. The case had haunted many in the department for years and its threads led everywhere. More than forty years after the Hughes killing, he was hopeful he could finally put the case to rest. Then the records clerk handed Sherlock a thin manila folder. Sherlock could have left the records center without the folder and cruised into retirement, and no one would have noticed. Instead, he tucked the envelope under his arm and carried it outside.

"This tale sheds light on the worlds of Chicago crime and politics and shows the collateral damage both can leave in their wake." —Jerry Springer, host of The Jerry Springer Show and Judge Jerry ​

"Coen pulls back the curtain on a cold case, revealing the city’s underside and offering compelling evidence that a police cover-up, mob influence, and political corruption conspired to hide the truth behind John Hughes’s murder. An engaging true-crime story that reads like a mystery, alive with vivid characters and unexpected twists and turns." —Kevin Davis, author of The Brain Defense and Defending the Damned 

"Jeff Coen’s heartbreaking account of the unsolved 1976 murder of a high school senior in a South Side park is like the story of Chicago in miniature. It’s a sad and infuriating story, meticulously reported and so vividly written that it feels like a film." —Mary Wisniewski, author of Algren: A Life 

“With this fascinating survey, Coen burnishes his reputation as a top-notch crime writer.” —Publishers Weekly Online

“Fans of true crime and of police procedurals will find much to relish here.” —Booklist

“In-depth and compelling investigative journalism that will resonate with those interested in organized crime and Chicago history and politics.” —Library Journal

“an exciting book which takes us compellingly back in time and into some of darkest corners of Chicago.” —Chicago Tribune

Jeff Coen is the Chicago Tribune crime and justice editor. He is the author of Family Secrets: The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob and the coauthor of Golden: How Rod Blagojevich Talked Himself out of the Governor's Office and into Prison.