KILLER WITHIN

This sequel to Killer Instinct (2014), about a teenage serial killer, amps up the suspense.

Lane may be only 17, but she’s an experienced murderer and has killed her mother, an FBI agent tasked to investigate the infamous serial killer the Decapitator—although actually she herself was the Decapitator. Worse, she trained Lane from an early age to follow in her footsteps. With her mother dead, everyone believes Lane is in mourning. Actually, Lane worries more about her own secret identity. Instead of killing people, she has become the Masked Savior, beating up bad guys who abuse animals and bully teens, but it seems she’s got a copycat who’s begun to attack people who don’t deserve it. Meanwhile, forced into group grief-counseling sessions, she meets biker Tommy, a possible romantic interest, and she worries about her younger sister and what their mom might have taught her. And it looks as though someone else knows the true identity of the Decapitator and intends to continue the gruesome killings if Lane won’t. Green keeps the mystery and suspense at fever pitch even as she thickens her plot with new characters and complications. Lane’s present-tense narration keeps readers guessing right along with her.

The twists keep turning right up to the blood-soaked ending in this satisfying thriller.