Shed no tears A novel

The discovery in a remote area of Cambridgeshire of a missing woman's remains reignites a cold case, in British author Frear's middling third novel featuring Det. Constable Cat Kinsella (after 2019's Stone Cold Heart). In 2012, in what was dubbed the Roommate Case, the confessed killer, Christopher Masters, lured four women to his house by advertising a room for rent and killed three of them. The fourth, Holly Kemp, escaped and went missing. Six years later, Kinsella and her partner, Det. Sgt. Luigi Parnell investigate Kemp's murder now that her body's been found. Because Kemp was killed in a different manner than the other victims, and her body was found miles away from Masters's house, the partners suspect that someone else murdered her. Parnell visits the only witness to the roommate case, but he finds her retelling unconvincing. Kinsella and Parnell's interview with a gangster, who falsely denies knowing Kemp, is also unproductive. Eventually, the pieces come together at the cumbersome conclusion. Kinsella remains frustratingly underdeveloped beyond her family's history of ties to organized crime, and the narrative can be confusing at times. Frear has done better. Agent: Eugenie Furniss, 42MP. (Dec.)

Det. Cat Kinsella is back in Frear's latest (after Stone Cold Heart), working on the Roommate murders, in which Christopher Masters lured women to his home with the ruse of a room for rent. He admitted to killing all of the victims, yet he waffled on his admission of killing Holly Kemp. Years later, when Holly's remains are finally found, her cause of death is different from that of the other victims. Cat and her partner, veteran detective Luigi Parnell, are assigned as fresh eyes on this cold case. Can they link Masters to Kemp, or is there another killer that the original detectives missed? This is the third novel to feature Cat, and while it can be read as a stand-alone, readers who are interested in her backstory may want to start with the first two books; some of Cat's quirks and her relationships with her dad and her boyfriend may be more clear. Much of the text is dialog between the detectives as they try to solve the case, but readers will also enjoy Cat's humorous asides and sarcastic thoughts. VERDICT Frear creates an atmosphere of tension among the detectives and witnesses and in Cat's personal life that will make readers want to devour this mystery in one sitting.--Natalie Browning, Longwood Univ. Lib., Farmville, VA