Last to Die

Brady's second romantic thriller (One Scream Away) sports a winning combination of complex characters and intricately woven plot. Mourning the recent death of her father, Maryland police detective Dani Cole is called back to work to investigate a murder because she knows the victim, a former prostitute named Rosie whom Dani helped to start a new life. An unlikely link between Rosie and arts foundation director Russell Sanders dissolves when Sanders is also found murdered, but by then Dani has reconnected with an old flame: Mitch Sheridan, the foundation's owner. The independent, solitary cop stubbornly resists Mitch's charms, but as bodies begin to pile up, Mitch and Dani find themselves at equal risk of falling in love and being killed. There's nothing exactly new here, but Brady's deft style will keep readers turning pages. (Sept.)