Say No More

September 5, 2016
At the start of Mary Higgins Clark Award–winner Ryan’s engrossing fifth Jane Ryland novel (after 2015’s What You See), the Boston-based investigative journalist witnesses a hit-and-run. Jane calls in the perpetrator’s plate number, but the car’s owner insists he’s innocent, earning Jane an invitation to testify in court. When Jane receives an anonymous note warning her to “say no more,” she’s uncertain whether the threat pertains to the accident or her in-progress exposé about campus rape. Meanwhile, Jane’s almost-fiancé, homicide detective Jake Brogan, works to take down the Sholto crime family and investigates the suspicious death of Avery Morgan, a Hollywood screenwriter turned adjunct college professor whose corpse was found floating in her swimming pool. Ryan uses a complex, multifaceted plot to deliver an unflinching look at college sexual assault and examine the “hard line between journalism and law enforcement.” The tension mounts as the action builds to a conclusion that thrills and gratifies. Five-city author tour. Agent: Lisa Gallagher, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.

Boston's smartest, sexiest investigative couple returns, and, even more so than usual, they find themselves entwined in each other's cases.This latest installment in the adventures of ace TV newswoman Jane Ryland and Harvard-educated homicide detective Jake Brogan (her no-longer-secret fiance) hits the ground running with what seems to be a hit-and-run highway accident witnessed by both Jane and her new producer, Fiola ("not Fiona, as she'd reminded Jane a few hundred times already"). Five previous novels being what they are, readers will know there's more to this than meets the eye. And Jane knows she may have to be called upon as a witness, which doesn't please her or her bosses at the station. Still, not even this can keep her from her main task of the moment: gathering interviews for a documentary about sexual assaults on college campuses. One victim in particular seems poised to tell all on camera, though she's still too shy to give Jane and Fiola her real name. Meanwhile, Jake and Boston's Finest have been dispatched to a housing complex called The Reserve, an "off-the-official-map enclave of blue-blooded affluence," to peer into the suspicious drowning of a Hollywood screenwriter who's a visiting professor at a local college--the same college (of course) attended by Jane's potential interview subject. And if all that weren't enough, there's another Reserve resident who anonymously alerted police to the screenwriter's fatal fall into the complex's swimming pool and has her reasons for staying as anonymous as possible. Arrogant college administrators, reluctant witnesses, and yet another mysterious death among the reserved at The Reserve are among the many impediments placed in front of Jane and Jake as they work what seem to be separate sides of the street that you just know will converge toward the end. Ryan shows a greater assurance in handling her multitiered plot through the use of multiple points of view. The device works so well it should become a regular part of her winning format. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 15, 2016
In their fifth romantically charged thriller, Boston investigative reporter Jane Ryland and BPD detective Jake Brogan are moving their relationship forward now that Jane has transferred out of breaking news. Of course, instead of simplifying matters, Jane's career move places her in the center of another dangerously tempting investigation. En route to an interview, Jane sees a hit-and-run and alerts police that she's a witness. Before she knows it, she's destroyed the DA's case by contradicting a defendant's bogus confession, and she's receiving threats. But things look up when she finds a focus for her campus sexual-assault documentary in Tosca, a young woman who was victimized at local Adams Bay College. At the same time, Jake's latest case also leads him to Adams Bay, as he investigates the suspicious drowning of a visiting drama professor. Ryan's portrayal of campus sexual assault is skillfully anchored by the well-drawn characters of Tosca and narcissistic campus administrator Edward Tarrant. Another compelling entry in a series known for wrapping timely social issues in realistic danger.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)