If you have not read Close to Home, the first Adam Fawley book, and you plan to you should read it first as Making a Killing will be a huge spoiler. Having said that Making a Killing can easily be read as a stand-alone as all of the background is explained. I listened to the audio version and loved the format with messages, memos and news articles being read. There is a large cast of characters, and they were listed with a short bio. If you are listening like I did you might find taking notes will help with who each detective is, but other than getting to know them better and perhaps for future books it really doesn’t affect the story. This is a fabulous police procedural where small clues and great detective work eventually lead to a conclusion that no one could have imagined.