2025 EDGAR AWARD NOMINEE FOR THE SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL!When someone dies to save your life, how do you ever forgive them?A World of Hurt is Mindy Mejia's highly-anticipated follow-up to the "propulsive" USA Today bestselling thriller To Catch a Storm where an Iowa City police officer and a DEA informant must work together to hunt down the remains of a hidden drug empire.Kara Johnson always knew she'd die young and violently. It didn't matter who delivered the final blow, she would deserve it--her years spent running drugs and spreading violence would guarantee it. But death doesn't always go as planned. When her girlfriend sacrifices herself to save Kara's life, Kara is left grieving and adrift. She doesn't know why she's alive until the DEA shows up and offers her a choice: go to prison or turn informant to lure out the last of the drug trafficking ring that murdered her girlfriend.Max Summerlin is the kind of cop who needs answers--he's been shot twice in the last year while looking for them. Despite his family's objections and his struggle with chronic pain, he accepts an invitation from the DEA task force eagerly. That is, until he realizes he'll be babysitting reformed drug trafficker Kara Johnson as she goes undercover.Max knows Kara is keeping secrets. Kara doesn't trust anyone, let alone Max. But the cop and the criminal will have to find a way to work together fast, because they aren't the only ones hunting down the remains of a drug empire. And the kingpin who lurks in the shadows will stop at nothing to win.