Close Call

July 1, 2016
After accidentally exchanging phones with a killer for hire, a woman must rely on her estranged sister's help to recover her phone and her life.While running errands, Sydney Ellison switches phones with a stranger at the deli counter. An inconvenience at the best of times, this mistake costs Sydney much more than a new phone. The first call she receives appears to be an order for a hit on Congressman Fidel Montoya, whose bid for re-election is days away. Sydney is terrified about what the call might mean, and her fears are realized when her fiance, Jason Nygaard, is killed execution-style at their home. Though Sydney's convinced his murder is related to the threatening call on the stranger's phone, the police think otherwise, and soon Sydney is the prime suspect in Jason's murder. She's thrust back into the public eye, a place she's tried to avoid since her youthful indiscretion some 15 years ago with George Manley, a much older and much-married congressman. When Sydney's sister, true-crime writer Reese Linn, offers her investigative help, Sydney knows not to trust her. Reese, after all, is the one who broke the story about Sydney and George, though having someone so cool and calculating on her side might benefit Sydney. Interspersed with their investigation is the story of Paul Jones, a killer for hire trying to take care of an aging father while mopping up after a job gone wrong. Though lacking the banter typical of DiSilverio's series (The Readaholics and the Gothic Gala, 2016, etc.), this stand-alone has a fast-moving plot that's so engrossing you may not notice its failure to delve into the complexity of D.C. politics.

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Starred review from September 1, 2016

Heading home from work, Sydney Ellison stops at a deli to pick up dinner for herself and her fiance. She bumps into a stranger, and that chance encounter irrevocably changes her life. For Sydney accidentally picks up the man's burner phone and discovers an assassination plot against a senator. Before she can call the police, the assassin kills her fiance. Sydney must now turn to her journalist sister Reese, from whom she has been estranged after a personal betrayal 15 years ago, for help in identifying and finding the unknown killer before he can get to them. VERDICT DiSilverio's (Swift Edge; "Mall Cop" mysteries) excellent plotting in her stand-alone thriller will keep readers on the edge of their seats rooting for Sydney to triumph. A treat for Megan Abbott fans.

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