On a beautiful spring afternoon in Charlotte, NC, 13-year-old Lindsay Lawless is snatched off the street in front of her own house as she walks home from school. Detective Isaac Black is assigned as the lead Missing Persons Detective to find Lindsay and bring her home safe. Black was once on the Homicide squad but was reassigned to Missing Persons after he returned from a department-imposed sobriety program. Black races to discover where Lindsay is and who took the daughter of Edward Lawless, one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the Southeast. As Black delves into the investigation, disparate lives intersect, family secrets are revealed, and departmental politics threaten his progress. The emotions of the case dredge up demons from Black's own life that he must keep at bay. Meanwhile, the detective works to keep ahead of Monique Mohan, an aggressive TV reporter, who seems to be as close to uncovering the case's secrets as Black is. Culpable is a thrilling read that weaves these storylines together into a spellbinding conclusion.