The Beautiful Dead

September 26, 2016
This is one exclusive that Eve Singer, an attractive iWitness News crime reporter, doesn’t want, in this taut thriller from British author Bauer (The Shut Eye). While covering the stabbing of a young woman just feet from throngs of London Christmas shoppers, Eve catches the eye of the murderer, who decides she would be the perfect amanuensis to aid his grandiose series of gruesome “exhibitions.” Bauer puts the sympathetic, conflicted Eve and the heart-tuggingly demented father for whom she is caring in escalating jeopardy, along with several memorable minor players, including Det. Sgt. Emily Aguda, whose small size leads people to underestimate her formidable skills (she’s a black belt in kickboxing and Judo). Though less of the killer, who’s pretty much a stock type, would have been more, readers will root for Bauer’s spunky heroine on this suspenseful slay ride through a snow-globe London. Agent: Jane Gregory, Gregory & Company (U.K.).

November 1, 2016
Award-winning novelist Bauerwinner of the Crime Writers' Association's Dagger in the Library Award for outstanding body of workreturns with the Bridget Jonesflavored tale of Eve Singer, a journalist struggling to nail a tough job while a younger, more glamorous wannabe nips at her heels. Adding to Singer's load is the care of her dad, who lives with her and suffers from dementia. Things don't look good, but Eve's luck turns, in a macabre way, when a serial killer decides that she should be his media contact. Singer and the police butt heads while pursuing an increasingly unhinged man who seems to relish the spotlight and who doesn't hesitate to draw the journalist into his exhibitionist antics. Readers who like police procedurals with a snarky, jaded onlooker on the side will enjoy this thriller, which is something between Tana French and Karin Slaughter and will work for readers who stay up late reading either of those authors.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)