Mercy

Daniels returns to Beartooth, Mont. (the setting of Atonement) with a fast-paced thriller set in the remnants of a once-thriving mining town. Rourke Kincaid, a Seattle detective turned federal marshal, is on the trail of a serial killer. His investigation leads to Callie Westfield, who works at the Branding Iron Café and inexplicably appeared in photos of crime scenes in three separate neighborhoods. Kincaid asks his old partner, Laura Fuller, for help profiling his suspect, but later ignores her advice and his own instincts and befriends the attractive young waitress. As Kincaid pursues his criminal investigation while romancing Callie, he fears he has fallen for a murderer but does little to preserve the integrity of the investigation or protect himself. While it’s fairly easy for the reader to stay a step ahead of the convoluted plot, Daniels manages to bring some tension to the interwoven secrets of the past and present, leading to a chilling climax. Agent: Lisa Erbach Vance, Aaron M. Priest Literary Agency. (Sept.)