Trust Her

After nearly being killed for informing on the IRA, sisters Tessa and Marian Daly are finally settling into their new lives in Dublin when the past rears its ugly head, in Edgar winner Berry’s harrowing sequel to Northern Spy. Over a sultry August weekend while her four-year-old son, Finn, is staying with her ex-husband, Tessa is snatched by IRA gunmen and given an ultimatum: reconnect with her old MI5 handler, Eamonn, and turn him into an informer—or else. The traumatized Tessa assents, forcing her to brainstorm a plan with Marian. As Tessa meets in turn with the attractive Eamonn and her menacing IRA contact, Eoin Royce, danger mounts. Then Marian vanishes during a solo mountain hike, and Tessa wonders if their old pursuers have struck again. Though some of the hairpin twists are less convincing than others—a subplot concerning a Dublin detective who’s determined to prove the Daly sisters belong to an IRA sleeper cell feels particularly forced—Berry’s moving depiction of a fractured family whose love runs as deep as its rifts should please existing series fans and win her new ones. Espionage buffs will find much to enjoy. Agent: Emily Forland, Brandt & Hochman Literary. (June)