Cut to the Bone

Starred review from May 25, 2020
In Thriller Award finalist Cooper’s exhilarating third outing for FBI agent and neuroscientist Sayer Altair (after 2019’s Buried), Sayer heads up a challenging, high-profile investigation into a hijacked bus carrying 24 high schoolers returning from a STEM fair in Washington, D.C. When a 17-year-old girl’s body is found on the grounds of the National Academy of Sciences, she’s identified as one of the missing students. The ritualized staging of the corpse, carefully placed on the celestial map at the Einstein Memorial and surrounded by a circle of nine baboon figurines and a large axe, persuades Sayer it’s the work of a serial killer. The suspense mounts as the tally of victims rise, and the remaining hostages on board the bus plot an escape. Meanwhile, fake witnesses, misinformation, and false identities undermine Sayer’s hunt for the missing teens, and a shocking revelation tests her strength of character. The sharp, intricate story, full of chills and unexpected twists, will keep readers guessing to the end. Fans will hope to see a lot more of this smart, capable lead. Agent: Amy Tannenbaum, Jane Rotrosen Agency.

Starred review from May 1, 2020
In this third in the series (following Caged, 2018, and Buried, 2019), Sayer Altair, FBI agent and neurologist, is on a desperate search for a group of teenage girls who disappeared on a school trip. Then the body of one of the girls is found, followed by another, both posed at high-traffic Washington, DC, monuments with odd artifacts and messages referring to ancient Egyptian beliefs. Altair, a Black woman in a field where that is a rarity, must wrestle with having made missteps in tracking a killer who seems to be on the fast track to murdering the remaining girls in his grasp. Most effective here are the switches in perspective between the FBI investigation and the feisty captives, who are not sitting around waiting for their fate. Readers will find themselves devouring this genuinely gripping thriller in one (long) sitting as the clues become more esoteric and the twists mount. Cooper's series is ideal for fans of Patricia Cornwell and for readers who crave more mysteries with women of color in the lead.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)