cover image I, Witness

I, Witness

Niki Mackay. Orion (Hachette, dist.), $13.99 trade paper (304p) ISBN 978-1-4091-7461-5

PI Madison Attallee, the prickly, troubled heroine of British author Mackay’s psychologically astute debut, takes on the case of 24-year-old Kate Reynolds, who has moved back home to Kingston, Surrey, after serving six years in prison for the stabbing murder of her best friend, Naomi Andrews, in 2010. Though she confessed at the time, Kate is now convinced of her own innocence and wants Madison to find the real killer. Madison soon discovers that the Reynolds family has skeletons tumbling out of every closet, and the domineering Reynolds men, including Kate’s brother, Marcus, are keeping disturbing secrets. The narrative alternates among Madison, who’s slowly picking up the pieces of her life; Kate, who’s coping with life after prison; Marcus’s wife, Claudia, who seeks a way out of her abusive marriage; and Naomi’s mother, Anthea, whose all-consuming grief has fractured her life and marriage. Mackay builds tension to a fever pitch and throws in more twists than a corkscrew. Readers will look forward to Madison’s next case. Agent: Josephine Hayes, Blair Partnership (U.K.). (Mar.)