May 4, 2015
Kate Waters, the heroine of this lackluster first in a new series from Thornton (A Song for You and five other Chloe Newcomb mysteries), decides to start over in the desert city of Dudley, Ariz., after leaving volatile poet Harry Light. When a tourist couple, Carrie and Wes Cooper, are shot to death, Kate is horrified. A short time earlier, Carrie spoke to her at the food co-op where Kate works and seemed nervous. When the police arrest a local man, Kate’s not convinced that he’s the shooter. Meanwhile, Malcolm MacGregor, a detective with the Mesa police department, is in town after the suicide of his wife, Cindy, intending to take some time off, but is drawn into the double murder investigation, as well as a case of a missing girl that may have ties to Harry. The plot lines lack cohesion, and clunky dialogue and repetitive phrases (e.g., “Cindy, his dead wife”) bog down the already tiresome narrative. A predictable denouement doesn’t help. Agent: Vicky Bijur, Vicky Bijur Literary Agency.