Children of the savage city

The murder of a British nanny at a cathedral in Naples kick-starts Heider's labyrinthine follow-up to May the Wolf Die. Tourists Monica Lissom and Kami Washington are first to find the corpse of Claire Sexton at the Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo, but on advice from Monica's father, the U.S. ambassador to Italy, they refuse to give statements to anyone other than Nikki Serafino, who works for Phoenix Seven, an organizational "interface" between the U.S. military and local police. Nikki believes Monica and Kami are innocent of the crime, but when investigators learn the young women lied about knowing Claire, who vanished from her employers' docked yacht three days before she died, Nikki is powerless to prevent their arrest. Meanwhile, Nikki's good friend Valerio Alfieri, a cop with the anti-corruption unit, is called to repay a favor he once asked of a dangerous, well-connected man. Intricate plotting and a sprawling cast make for a slow burn at first, but the book's back half is a high-stakes, blood-soaked sprint that demands a sequel. Fans of gritty procedurals and international thrillers alike will be gratified. Agent: Sharon Pelletier, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Feb.)