NOW YOU SEE HER

Tishy's mystery thriller with a psychic twist introduces an engaging new heroine. Cast aside by her Chicago executive husband in favor of a trophy wife, Regina "Reggie" Cutter gets a new life in Boston, where she has inherited not only her Aunt Jo's South End townhouse but also her aunt's psychic abilities, which take the form of unusual pains in various parts of her body. While these pains aren't precise paranormal indicators, they're enough to get her asked by a realtor friend to check out a Back Bay mansion subject to unexplained manifestations; she's also appointed an unofficial consultant to Boston police detective Frank Devaney, whom her aunt assisted on occasion. Devaney is unsure of the guilt of a young black man who's serving a life sentence for a 13-year-old murder committed in a crack-infested building that's now an exclusive apartment house. The persistent Reggie tries everything from library research to visiting dangerous neighborhoods, baiting a charismatic preacher, hobnobbing with powerful politicians and badgering Devaney. Tishy does a good job conveying the feel of contemporary Boston, but one hopes she'll let Reggie rely more on her clairvoyant gifts than on unconvincing coincidence in future outings. Agent, Meredith Bernstein. (Feb. 24)

FYI: Tishy is also the author of Jealous Heart (1997) and two other Kate Banning mysteries.