cover image The End of the Wasp Season

The End of the Wasp Season

Denise Mina. Little, Brown/Reagan Arthur, $25.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-316-06933-5

In Mina's stellar follow-up to Still Midnight, Det. Sgt. Alex Morrow, who's five months pregnant with twins, looks into the murder of Sarah Erroll, who was kicked to death in her childhood home in an affluent Glasgow suburb. The discovery of more than 600,000 euros in the house suggests robbery wasn't a motive. Detective Chief Inspector Bannerman, a much reviled colleague of Alex's, fixates on Kay Murray, who's not only a former caregiver for Sarah's recently deceased mother%E2%80%94and whose teenage sons are thought to fit the two killers' basic profile%E2%80%94but also Alex's long ago friend. Despite their history, Kay soon sees Alex%E2%80%94and all police%E2%80%94as the enemy out to railroad her sons. Delving deeper into Sarah's life, Alex connects her to Lars Anderson, a London banker in dire financial straits who recently committed suicide. The gulf between social classes and the disintegration of families both inform this memorable police procedural. 5-city author tour. (Sept.)