Detective Abbie Kearney is back in this explosive thriller featuring not only a brutal serial killer, but also complex characters who are deeply affected by their childhood experiences and their perceived place in society. Abbie grapples with professional and emotional issues when she confronts the reality of just how far she will go to stop the murder spree. Plot twists will keep readers guessing right up until the grand finale.

The Hangman, a serial killer who terrorized Buffalo five years ago, escapes while being transferred, and the murders begin again as he targets young girls in affluent North Buffalo. As lead detective, Abbie Kearney must deal with a superior who doesn’t like her, a cop boyfriend who questions her approach and a shadowy network of Irish ex-cops from the neighborhood where she grew up. Abbie races against the clock to find clues in the Hangman’s past as her instincts lead her to an old mental hospital where the seed for these killings took root a generation ago. (BALLANTINE, May, 320 pp., $26.00)

Reviewed by: 
Joyce Morgan