Not by Blood

Narozny (Night Sniper, with James Patterson) impresses in his first solo thriller. New York City EMT Tina Evans gets a late-night call for help from her heroin addict brother Bill Morgan. Despite wondering “how many times can you rescue a man who just keeps hurling himself back in the water,” Evans travels to the Brooklyn address he provides. But when she reaches the derelict apartment building populated by “slumped male bodies shuffling here and there with no purpose or conviction,” Bill’s not in his room. Instead, she finds a gut-shot corpse nearby, whom she identifies as P.I. Jake Bickert after rummaging through his belongings. Convinced Bill isn’t capable of murder, Tina resists calling 911. The situation gets more complex when she finds her husband’s number on the dead man’s cell phone, gets a text to her own phone from an anonymous sender reading simply “Shhhhhh,” and learns that her husband is in critical condition after having been hit by a car. Narozny keeps his foot on the gas throughout, while fleshing out Tina’s tragic backstory to create a well-rounded and complex protagonist. Laura Lippman fans will be eager for more. Agent: Peter Steinberg, Fletcher & Co. (July)