What You See

August 31, 2015
Mary Higgins Clark Award–winner Ryan deftly handles four distinct story lines in her strong fourth Jane Ryland novel (after 2014’s Truth Be Told). A man has been stabbed to death in a public square across from Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall in broad daylight; a troubled college student deals with a boring job and survivor guilt following her perfect older sister’s death; and newly unemployed reporter Jane, having quit her job for ethical reasons, finds herself thrust into a freelance gig covering the Faneuil Hall murder that her secret love interest, Det. Jake Brogan, is investigating. Finally, Gracie, the child of Jane’s sister’s fiancé, appears to have been kidnapped by Gracie’s stepfather. As the story races on—and it does move fast—the layers of connection among these plot threads gradually become clear. Fully drawn characters, palpable suspense, and not one, but two unexpected endings are a plus. There’s even some humor in the way Jane can’t catch a break job-wise. Agent: Lisa Gallagher, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.

September 1, 2015

Unemployed reporter Jane Ryland finds herself in the right place at the right time when, while on a job interview at Channel 2, she is offered an impromptu opportunity to freelance and cover breaking news--a murder in a busy city park. Will eyewitness accounts, cellphones from the crowd, or local surveillance cameras help solve the crime, or are some things not as they appear? As Jane's love interest, Det. Jake Brogan, works to crack the complex case, Jane gets ensnared in a situation closer to home, that of a missing child. In a whirlwind 48 hours, Jane and Jake are entangled in a quagmire of circumstances that quickly escalate and ultimately expose deceit, corruption, and secrets. The more layers that are peeled away, the more surprises that are revealed. VERDICT Ryan's latest thriller (after Truth Be Told) is built like an intricate house of cards, threatening to crumble at any second. Mystery readers get ready: you will find yourself racing to the finish.--Mary Todd Chesnut, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2015
Jane Ryland's resignation from a Boston newspaper is a boon to her relationship with Detective Jake Brogan, since a reporter involved with a cop skirts ethical boundaries. But when a television station courting Ryland offers her impromptu freelance work, she bumps into Brogan on duty just after a man is stabbed in crowded Curley Park. Then a college-student photographer wannabe, who filmed the murder and connected with Ryland, is himself stabbed near police headquarters. While Ryland tries to follow the story, a family emergency intrudes: her younger sister is about to be married, and her fiance's nine-year-old daughter has gone missing, apparently snatched by the girl's stepfather. Although the missing-child subplot engenders some suspense, it serves mainly to round out the character of Ryland. But the main murder investigation zips along at high speed, uncovering city-hall shenanigans, extortion, and a dirty cop along the way. Not quite as adrenaline-fueled as earlier series entries, but still a skillfully wrought procedural with winning protagonists.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)