Wrecked

Josie Gray faces her most personally and professionally challenging case yet in Fields’s engaging, if overly complex, third mystery featuring the Artemis, Tex., police chief (after 2013’s Scratchgravel Road). When Josie’s boyfriend, accountant Dillon Reese, goes missing and becomes a suspect in the shooting murder of his secretary, Christina Handley, Josie cedes the lead investigator role to another officer. An absurdly high ransom demand ($9 million) and a frightening video of a captive Dillon clarify the situation, though the motivation of the kidnappers remains a mystery, as does Christina’s seemingly senseless killing. Despairing of ever raising such a ransom, Josie turns for help to her hostage negotiator friend, Nick Santos. The narrative alternates between border tensions; the unpredictable actions of Dillon’s clients, like junk car dealer Wally Follet and ruthless millionaire Julian Beckwith; and Dillon’s increasingly desperate captivity. The action builds to a satisfying climax, as Josie races to locate and rescue her lover. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary Agency. (Mar.)