cover image The Dirty Secrets Club

The Dirty Secrets Club

Meg Gardiner, . . Dutton, $24.95 (355pp) ISBN 978-0-525-95066-0

An intelligent and stubborn heroine who’s just emotionally vulnerable enough to be empathetic lifts this novel from Gardiner (China Lake ), a Californian now living in London making her U.S. debut. Dr. Jo Beckett, a forensic psychiatrist (or “deadshrinker”), performs psychological autopsies to uncover the truths behind grisly crimes. Recruited to consult on the possible suicide of prosecutor Callie Harding, who drove her BMW off a San Francisco bridge and struck an airport minivan on the road below, Jo discovers this accident is the latest in a string of high profile murder-suicides. As Jo and the SFPD’s Lt. Amy Tang dig deeper, they uncover the Dirty Secrets Club, a shadowy group of citizens whose members include a noted fashion designer and a football star, both of whom committed very public suicides. Still coming to terms with her doctor husband’s recent death, Jo struggles to pinpoint the club’s origins, realizing that a former member may be systematically driving the remaining members to their deaths. Gardiner should win new fans on this side of the Atlantic with this adrenaline-filled thriller. (June)