Steve Cline thought surviving his first investigation was the hardest thing he’d ever face. He was wrong.

Still reeling from the physical and psychological fallout of At Risk, Steve is thrown into turmoil when his estranged father dies suddenly—and he learns a devastating truth: the man being laid to rest was never his biological father. His real father is Christopher J. Kessler, a respected Thoroughbred trainer on the Maryland circuit.

Drawn to the racetrack in search of answers, Steve slips into the hidden world known as the backside—the grueling, insular domain of trainers, grooms, and magnificent horses. When Kessler’s most promising runners show signs of being drugged, Steve agrees to work undercover as a lowly hotwalker to find out who’s behind the dopings.

What begins as a search for identity turns deadly. As Steve navigates oppressive summer heat, punishing labor, and a culture built on silence and loyalty, his investigation leads to corruption, betrayal—and murder. On the backside, ambition is ruthless, innocence is expendable, and some men will do anything to get the right horse under the wire first.

Dead Man’s Touch is the second book in the Steve Cline Mystery Series, praised for its authenticity and insider detail. Steve leaves the racetrack changed—and unaware that the next mystery will ignite consequences he can’t control.