cover image The Stars Shine Bright

The Stars Shine Bright

Sibella Giorello. Thomas Nelson, $15.99 trade paper (384p) ISBN 978-1-5955-4536-7

Christy Award–winner Giorello arrives with the fifth in the Raleigh Harmon series, (after The Mountains Bow Down) which brings some closure to angst the protagonist feels about her mentally ill mother and overbearing fiancé. FBI agent Harmon, who was disciplined for stealing evidence, tries to redeem herself on assignment, but is forced to live a double life as she goes undercover in a horse race–fixing scandal. When horses die at the race track, she learns that the death of the animals is only a by-product of a more evil plot. Special Agent Jack Stephanson appears to play a lesser role, but the reader finds out he’s with Raleigh in ways she never imagined throughout the story. Giorello’s writing is poignant, concrete, and humorously descriptive yet sincere: “Crabby from salt bloat and layers of big fat lies, I grabbed my purse from the Ghost [her car] and stomped toward the track’s private entrance.” Research on geology, horse racing, and law enforcement, is vividly on display throughout the story, adding to Giorello’s reputation as a pro and a shining star. Agent: Brian Peterson. (July)