Heartbreak Bay

The engrossing fifth entry in Thriller Award finalist Caine's Stillhouse Lake series (after 2020's Bitter Falls) finds Tennessee PI Gwen Proctor living happily with flight instructor Sam Cade, who has recently adopted her two children by her late ex-husband, Melvin Royal, a serial killer. Gwen and her kids have been forced to live in perpetual fear, since people troll and even threaten her because they believe her guilty of acting as Melvin's accomplice, even though she was acquitted of the charge. One night, Gwen's police detective friend, Kez Claremont, is called to the scene of a car submerged in a pond with drowned twin baby girls inside. Kez asks Gwen for her unofficial help in exploring how the twins' mother allowed this tragedy to happen. Was the mother abducted and needs saving, or is she perhaps criminally responsible for the girls' deaths? The tension rises as the case becomes entwined with increased threats to Gwen and her family, and the two fully fleshed out leads wind up in a grim battle with a sadistic killer. Caine's fascinating portrait of a psychopath will keep psychological thrillers fans turning the pages. Agent: Lucienne Diver, Knight Agency. (Mar.)

An investigation into two dead babies leads the ex-wife of a serial killer and her police officer best friend into serious danger. As much as Gwen Proctor wishes she could sleep through the night, she's already awake when she gets an early morning call from her best friend, Kezia Claremont. Gwen's history of having killed her husband, serial murderer Melvin Royal, means that her senses are always a hairbreadth from panic. Like Gwen's romantic partner, Sam Cade, and her kids, Lanny and Connor, Kez is used to Gwen's constant vigilance. She and Gwen have put their shared eyes for trouble into their work, Gwen as an investigator and Kez as a police officer. This time Kez needs Gwen's emotional support more than her professional expertise. The two meet at a small pond where a car is submerged with twin baby girls still strapped into their car seats. It's a rough scene made even more difficult for Kez, who's just learned that she's pregnant and is processing the good news alone because her partner, Javier, is away on duty with the Marines. Kez and Gwen's investigations lead them to the girls' likely mother, Sheryl Lansdowne, who might well have drowned her babies and run off if she was onto a quick buck. But Gwen's certain there's something bigger at play, particularly when her family is targeted for harassment by someone convinced that Gwen's history as Gina Royal makes her just as culpable as Melvin. The slow-burning investigation goes to some dark places. Fans of Caine's Stillhouse Lake series may be prepared for the grim climax; the uninitiated should brace themselves for a quick turn into some deeply troubling stuff. The aggressively disturbing conclusion places this one far beyond the pale of standard procedurals. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.