It's one of us

In this enthralling if flawed psychological thriller from bestseller Ellison (Her Dark Lies), interior designer Olivia Bender and her ghostwriter husband, Park, have been trying for years to have a child, but each pregnancy ends in a miscarriage. The continuing disappointment is straining their marriage, with unspoken recriminations and resentments. Into this turmoil come two Nashville homicide detectives. The body of a woman has been found in a nearby lake, and DNA evidence links Park to the crime--not as perpetrator but as the biological father of the murderer. Park, who donated to a sperm bank when he was in college, learns that he has at least 28 offspring. When the police discover that the manner of the victim's death eerily mirrors that of Park's college girlfriend, Park is thrust into the center of a vicious media storm. The assorted points-of-view of the major characters, including Olivia, Park, the two detectives, and the murderer, provide subtle and shifting takes on the information presented by the other characters. Only a forced ending, followed by an anticlimactic epilogue, disappoints. Ellison reliably entertains. Agent: Scott Miller, Trident Media Group. (Feb.)

Secrets, lies, and DNA strands intertwine in this twisty thriller about the meaning of family and the battle between nature and nurture. Interior designer Olivia Bender has almost everything--a loving husband, Park, a rewarding career, and a beautiful home--but no children. After six miscarriages, she's not sure she can go through it again. When the police knock on their door, Olivia and Park learn secrets that ignite a firestorm in their lives. Someone in Nashville is killing women, and DNA indicates the suspect is Park's son. But how? Park soon admits donating to a sperm bank in college. Although horrified about the killings, he is secretly happy he has a child. Teenager Scarlett Flynn runs a chat room for the "Halves," people whose DNA is related to one man, their biological father. She's obsessed with trying to find the father she's wanted her whole life. Now it seems one of the Halves is a murderer. VERDICT Ellison (Her Dark Lies) spotlights the issue of infertility, based on her own experiences, then adds betrayal, obsession, and familial ties that bind to create a tension-filled story with an intriguing theme. Readers will race through the pages to an end they didn't see coming.--K.L. Romo