THE DEAD

An Irish serial killer resumes his murder spree after a five-year hiatus . . . or does he?

Grimly sardonic ex-FBI agent Saxon (no first name) tells a story that begins in a Dublin pub, where she meets with journalist Nick Elliott, who’s received a letter from someone identifying himself as Ed Fagan. Fagan, a.k.a. the Night Hunter, murdered a string of prostitutes before disappearing five years ago. At the time, Saxon was simultaneously pursuing Fagan and chronicling his crimes for a proposed book. She can’t believe that Fagan has resurfaced, mostly because she killed him, a dark secret she’s kept at considerable personal expense ever since. Everybody else thinks Fagan simply quit. Soon after Saxon agrees to verify the identity of the letter writer, Fagan or his impersonator begins to kill again. Though his victims and m.o. don’t completely match the old pattern, there are enough similarities—messages heavy with biblical allusion and cryptic quotation, for instance—to convince police. That the American Saxon still lives in Ireland, which she regularly disdains, may seem inexplicable until you know her other big secret: an affair with Dublin detective Grace Fitzgerald. Their liaison benefits both in pursuit of the perpetrator, whose pompous musings counterpoint the main narrative. Several murders and genuine surprises precede a taut finale.

Forensic analysis and intellectual speculation overshadow action, but sublimely prickly Saxon is a solid foundation for debut mystery-monger Black to build a series on.