cover image You Can Go Home Now

You Can Go Home Now

Michael Elias. Harper, $27.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0-06-295416-9

Iranian-American Nina Karim, the heroine of this strong thriller from Elias (The Last Conquistador), has a secret reason for joining the Long Island City, N.Y., PD—she wants access to resources only a police officer has so that she can find the anonymous Army of God sniper who killed her father when she was a teen in 1999. In the course of her work as a detective, she sees a pattern in murder victims who abused women while they were alive and connects them all to the Artemis Shelter for Women, where she goes undercover as an abuse victim. Meanwhile, she pursues a lead on the identity of her father’s killer. Though Nina’s feelings about the “cowardly bastard” are clear, she’s morally conflicted about finding the killer of the abusers. A few women at the shelter have stories that feel clichéd, like the Pakistani woman who’s threatened with an honor killing, but overall Elias does a good job of conveying a painful reality. This is for anyone who doesn’t mind their heroes acting in the gray areas to see justice done. Agent: Caroline Michel, Peters, Fraser & Dunlop Group. [em](June) [/em]