FLIGHT ACROSS WATERS

Instead of properly vacationing, a young police detective puts himself and his new bride in jeopardy in this taut thriller.

It took months, but Vancouver Police Constable Ben Malik finally takes his wife, Amy Robinson Malik, on a honeymoon to nearby Galiano Island. But a romantic escape isn’t in the stars. A private plane crashes into the sea, and they find the pilot dead. The victim is wealthy Vancouver Police Department benefactor Eugene Sokalsky, so Seppo Koskinen, Ben’s temporary boss, orders him back to work as a result. Also affected by the crash is the Sokalskys’ deadbeat son, Mark, a law school dropout who is working for gambling boss Luigi Alzaperi. In the course of the investigation, Ben meets Mark, learns too much about Mark’s roles in his father’s death and Alzaperi’s operation, and is subsequently abducted. When Ben fails to return home, Amy reports him missing. Angered by the slow pace of the police search for Ben, Amy begins her own investigation and soon uncovers the involvement of a dirty cop who pursues her. She goes off the grid while continuing to search for Ben. In Håkanson’s second book in the Amy Robinson series, salon owner Amy proves she can handle much more than a killer haircut—much to her and Ben’s surprise. Unable to trust Ben’s co-workers, Amy skillfully deploys a network of friends and acquaintances to help with the rescue effort. Despite being in captivity for much of the novel, Ben finds ways to ramp up the dramatic tension. Håkanson skillfully uses a layered cast (Mark is an entertaining villain—a spoiled poor-little rich boy who deserves to be fed to the sharks) in this quick-moving adventure. By thinking faster than their pursuers, Amy and Ben make for an appealing couple who are easy to cheer.

A winning pairing propels this nail-biter to greater heights.