Silent Rain

Salvaggio’s nail-biting fourth Macy Greeley mystery (after 2016’s Walleye Junction) takes the Montana state detective to the college town of Bolton, where writer Peter Granger and his artist wife have died in a suspicious house fire. One suspect in the murder-arson is 20-year-old Grace Adams, a student at Bolton College with a troubled past. Grace wasn’t happy that Granger, a man she trusted, was planning to use her traumatic experiences as fodder for his next novel. There are plenty of other suspects besides Grace, since just about everyone in Bolton had reason to hate Granger, including his wife. Part of the fun of Salvaggio’s mysteries lies in the unexpected complexity of small-town relationships. She shatters every illusion of simplicity as Macy lays bare each person’s secrets in a series of interviews that artfully draws out the tension of an already powerful story. The severe weather on the Montana plains—from swirling snow to drenching rain—sets the somber mood. Agent: Felicity Blunt, Curtis Brown. (May)