Deadly Stakes

December 17, 2012
Bestseller Jance’s busy eighth Ali Reynolds thriller (after 2012’s Left for Dead) takes the former newscaster from Sedona, Ariz., to Phoenix, where friend Brenda Riley is filming a story on cyberstalker Richard Lowensdale, whom Reynolds helped bring down in 2011’s Fatal Error. When circumstances land Lynn Martinson, one of Lowensdale’s victims, in another pickle, Martinson’s mother recommends she turn to Reynolds for help. But Martinson and boyfriend Chip Ralston soon find themselves in worse trouble after the discovery of the body of Ralston’s avaricious ex-wife, Gemma Ralston. The discovery of a second body near the first raises puzzling questions about possible connections between the victims. Meanwhile, high school senior A.J. Sanders, who anonymously reported Gemma’s death, also seeks Reynolds help as he tries to avoid suspicion. Series fans will welcome the familiar supporting cast, including computer nerd Stuart Ramey and boyfriend B. Simpson, but awkwardly contrived linkages and a lack of narrative drive make this a lesser effort. Agent: Alice Volpe, Northwest Literary.

January 1, 2013
Former reporter turned media consultant for the Yavapai County, Arizona, police, Ali Reynolds angers her law-enforcement colleagues when she agrees to help Lynn Martinson and her boyfriend, Chip Ralston, both accused of murdering Chip's gold-digging ex-wife, Gemma. Gemma's body, with Lynn's cell phone lying near it, was found in the desert by teen A. J. Sanders. After a second body is found in the same area, A. J. becomes a suspect, and Ali becomes involved sorting out his troubles, too. Are the two cases connected? When Ali gets close to finding the real killer, she is kidnapped, and her boyfriend and his colleague must race to find her by illegally hacking into phone records. Fast pacing, multiple plotlines, a fascinating look at online research, and sympathetic characters all provide appeal in Jance's suspenseful story. The eighth in the series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)