Dark Truths

November 4, 2019
Set in Birmingham, England, this convoluted series launch from Cross (the Kate Hanson mysteries) introduces obsessive criminologist Will Traynor, who has never come to terms with his wife’s unsolved murder. Taking center stage is methodical Det. Insp. Bernard Watts, who was once the head of the Unsolved Crimes Unit that collaborated with forensic psychologist Kate Hanson and has been disbanded. Watts is now the senior investigative officer on the gruesome case of a decapitated jogger, whose head can’t be found. Evidence of related crimes leads Watts to ask for additional assistance, which includes Traynor, who sees connections between the newly discovered deaths and that of his wife, an opinion not shared by the rest of the team. Traynor’s erratic behavior is often more of a hindrance than a help. Despite the book’s billing as a Will Traynor mystery, readers may prefer to see more of the plodding Watts than the unstable Traynor in the sequel. Agent: Camilla Wray, Darley Anderson Literary (U.K.).

November 15, 2019
DI Bernard Watts must break in a new team as he tracks a serial killer. It's bad enough that his trusted forensic psychologist, Kate Hanson, has gone off to Boston with Lt. Joe Corrigan, the American cop she met on the Della Harrington case (Cold, Cold Heart, 2018). Now Watts has to deal with rookie PC Chloe Judd, whose enthusiasm far outstrips her expertise, as he explores the murder of Zoe Roberts, killed during an early morning run down a public trail. This new murder is particularly unpleasant all on its own, since the killer took the trouble to remove the jogger's head from her body. But the discovery of several more skulls buried in shallow earth not far from the scene of Zoe's murder lets poor Watts know that he's now faced with a detective's worst nightmare--an active serial killer. Watts' investigation becomes still more complicated when the higher-ups who've decided to bring in a criminologist to profile the killer insist on choosing William Traynor, whose keen insight is paired with an obsession over the unsolved murder of his own wife, Claire. Between Traynor, who sees every murder as Claire's, and Judd, who's seen exactly zero murders before these, methodical Watts has his hands full. Watching an old pro herd cats as he cracks a tough case should tickle procedural fans everywhere.

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November 1, 2019
When a successful young lawyer, Zoe Roberts, is found stabbed and decapitated on a running path, the case is assigned to DI Bernard Watts. Normally, he'd be pleased to have such a challenging murder to solve, but, on this occasion, he's feeling hampered and irritated after his boss assigns both an ambitious but hopelessly green recruit, Chloe Judd, and criminologist Will Traynor, still recovering from the murder of his wife, to the case. As Watts and his team interview the family and friends of the victim, they hit roadblock after roadblock?Roberts, it appears, was a wonderful person who couldn't possibly have had any enemies. However, when more bodies are found, the case takes a surprising turn, with Traynor and Judd make solid contributions to the tedious task of sifting through clues to find means, motive, and opportunity. This series debut is a solid, skillfully written police drama with plenty of twists.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)