The Hour of the Pearl is a dual-perspective detective mystery novel. While it uses traditional mystery plot beats, it is character-driven and borrows from literary fiction as well as commercial fiction. After Detective Rita Shaw compromises an undercover sting, she must take a demotion and transfer to picturesque, coastal Virginia in order to escape the whispers of her misconduct. When a local hotel owner and his daughter vanish, finding them is the opportunity to redeem her career. And tourist Charlie Graham, reported three weeks prior for harassing the daughter, is the obvious suspect. But Rita’s investigation into the hotel complicates her easy solve as she discovers the family’s connection to a seven-year-old closed murder case. Charlie insists he is an old friend of the family, but when Rita uncovers evidence that he’s also connected to the closed murder case, the two outsiders must work together: Charlie to prove his innocence, and Rita to figure out what happened to the missing family.