Fear Nothing

Four-year-old Shana and her nearly one-year-old sister, Adeline, take two very different life paths after the death of their father, serial killer Harry Day, in Thriller Award–winner Gardner’s absorbing seventh novel featuring Boston homicide detective D.D. Warren (after 2012’s Catch Me). Shana heads to prison for life after killing a boy at age 14 and later murdering a fellow inmate as well as two corrections officers; Adeline, born with CIP (congenital insensitivity to pain), becomes a successful pain therapist. When a killer begins channeling Harry’s gruesome murder technique, Warren, who has been referred to Adeline for treatment of a debilitating injury suffered on the job, investigates. As the three women interact with one another, Shana appears to know more than she should, Adeline reveals less than she should, and a nervy killer taunts Warren. Gardner repeatedly ratchets up the tension while the strange relationship between the two mismatched siblings leads to a deadly climax. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Jan.)