A relentless nail-biter whether below or above the waterline. Even the setbacks are suspenseful.
A chance discovery in an alligator-infested pond sets diver Sloan McPherson, of Florida’s Underwater Investigation Unit, on the path of a monstrous serial killer.
Tasked with retrieving a corpse from a car that’s run into Pond 65, Sloan dodges the resident amphibians long enough to emerge successful. In the process, she finds something far more horrifying: a sunken van that a more extended second dive reveals is the final resting place of four teenagers who vanished 30 years ago. It would be bad enough if their deaths were the result of reckless acting out, but it looks more and more like murder times four. Informed of Sloan’s discovery by her boss, UIU head George Solar, the victims’ parents act out their grief by yelling at each other as Sloan watches, eager to move on. But although Florida’s waterways offer apparently endless riches for underwater investigations, this case won’t let her go. Ethan Rafferty, a schoolmate who hung out with the four victims half a lifetime ago, fingers a possible perpetrator: Sleazy Steve, who he’s pretty sure got possessed by a demon they were all pursuing. The further along the trail to Sleazy Steve Sloan and Scott Hughes, the newest member of the UIU team, get, the uglier the case looks and the hungrier other law enforcement agencies are for a piece of it. At length, Sloan’s hot-trigger reaction to a particularly condescending Broward County detective gets her booted off the task force, then placed on administrative leave, even as she discovers more and more victims.
A relentless nail-biter whether below or above the waterline. Even the setbacks are suspenseful.Pub Date: Feb. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5420-0964-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
Checks all the boxes on the way to the happiest of endings.
An amateur detective is approaching happily-ever-after with her beau, but she’s committed to one last case as a way to support a murdered man she let down in life.
While some might picture the life of a librarian for Mayville Heights Free Public Library to be normcore, Kathleen Paulson’s is anything but. Not only has she had a hand in solving a string of mysteries in her small Minnesota suburb, but the helpers she’s relied on in doing this work have ranged from her fiance, Det. Marcus Gordon, to her two magical cats, Owen and Hercules. Owen, originally from an unusual cat colony on Wisteria Hill, has the ability to disappear and reappear seemingly at will, and Hercules can walk through walls and other solid objects. Both are pretty handy to have around when mystery calls, as it does once again when Kathleen finds that Will Redfern has broken into the library and been killed mid-burglary. A fighter for the underdog, Kathleen vows to solve Will’s murder as a way of caring for someone society had given up on. She also continues her mentorship of Riley Hollister, a bright young girl whose family hasn’t been there for her time and again. With Kathleen’s wedding to Marcus just two months away, her schedule is full of cake tastings and bridesmaid dress approvals, but she can’t help but try to solve Will’s murder, maybe this time with Riley’s help.
Checks all the boxes on the way to the happiest of endings.Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780593548738
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
Variations on a theme that works a lot better at the beginning.
A group of friends who share the same name shifts gears to solve the murder of one of their own.
Even though she was warned by Brian, her ex-fiancé, that it would take ages for her to find a new community when she moved from Vermont to Minneapolis after dumping him, Sarah Jones has discovered a group of friends she fits in with perfectly, and not just because they’re being Minnesota nice. Her new buddies haven’t sought out Sarah because of her skills as a personal trainer—she’s the new director at LifeSport Fitness—but because of her name. The robust group of friends all share a common moniker, whose cultural frequency has led to shared lifetimes of misdirected mail and emails, and now is the common denominator in the social group dubbed “The Sarah Jones Project.” The group’s members range in age from a boisterous, troublemaking 17 to a very determined 69. Each of the Sarah Joneses is nicknamed with her age in order to differentiate group members, something that’s especially helpful when they’re all on the same text chain. The newest Sarah Jones, aka Thirty, hits it off immediately with Twenty-Seven, and is particularly relieved that Twenty-Seven is okay after hearing the news that a local Sarah Jones has been murdered. As the group resolves to unravel the mystery of what’s happened to their fallen member, Thirty is the obvious person to lead the charge because of the interest of a new FBI agent who seems to want to help her.
Variations on a theme that works a lot better at the beginning.Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9780593335536
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2025
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