Rush of Blood

December 19, 2016
Three British couples meet by chance during a vacation in Sarasota, Fla., in this intricate psychological thriller from Billingham (Die of Shame). They share fruity drinks and promise to keep in touch after their holiday, the kind of promises reminiscent of summer camp that never really pan out. Their vacation takes a dark turn when a mentally challenged 14-year-old, Amber-Marie Wilson, wanders away from the resort and vanishes. Back in England, somewhat awkward dinner parties ensue, with each couple hosting the others and the topic inevitably returning to Florida. When another girl with similar attributes goes missing in Kent, police on both sides of the Atlantic take notice and start paying much closer attention to this seemingly harmless group of people, one or more of whom is harboring something unpleasant. Billingham does a clever job shifting the setting from his usual turf, even if the tension isn’t always ratcheted as high as it could be, and his characters aren’t fully realized as usual. Agent: David Forrer, Inkwell Management.

October 15, 2016
Trouble in paradise follows three British couples back home.Their sojourn at Pelican Palms on Siesta Key, Florida, should be nothing but relaxing for veteran visitors Ed and Susan Dunning as well as for novices Angela and Barry Finnegan and Marina Green and Dave Cullen. And if Ed seems to leer a little too much at shapely Marina, or Angela is too outgoing to suit gruff Barry, maybe it's just the novelty of being far from home and away from the cares of daily life. It would all be quite a lark for the six of them if only Patti Lee Wilson's not-quite-right teenage daughter didn't just disappear in the middle of it. Once home, Angela invites the other two couples to dinner. But does Angela just want to keep up the relationship that seemed so close and easy in Florida? Or does she want to stir the pot that Amber-Marie Wilson's disappearance set on the boil? As the others mull the consequences of transplanting an American-born friendship to home soil, Trainee Constable Jenny Quinlan develops a professional interest in the sixsome. Ever since Quinlan called Detective Jeffrey Gardner, he becomes convinced that the solution to the Wilson case is right under her nose in the U.K., and she will push the trans-Atlantic envelope as far as she can to prove it. Billingham, creator of DI Tom Thorne (Die of Shame, 2016, etc.), provides a stand-alone that's both creepy and shocking as he probes a friendship with complexities even the friends can't fathom.

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December 1, 2016
Three London-area couples meet and pal around while vacationing at the same Florida resort, their holiday marred only by the disappearance of a developmentally delayed teenage girl on their last day in the Sunshine State. The holiday friendship deepens back home as the couples, each one very different from the other, take turns hosting dinner and meeting for drinks. But one of them has killed the girl, as revealed through first-person flashbacks. Which one? And why? Readers will enjoy puzzling it out as they gradually get to know the suspects through Billingham's deft and believable characterizations. Meanwhile, the Florida detective assigned to the case begins communicating with a detective-constable trainee in England, whose enthusiasm for her first real police work may just be a key in cracking the case. Billingham (Die of Shame, 2016) is a seasoned pro whose knack for combining a clever conceit with seamless execution ensures an absorbing read. He takes his time getting to the denouement, but readers who can resist reading the end in advance will savor the slow-burning suspense.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)