Worth Killing For

In Haseldine’s alluring third mystery featuring Detroit crime reporter Julia Gooden (after 2017’s Duplicity), Julia’s editor assigns her to cover the bow-and-arrow murder of college kid Angel Perez. Then, at a gas station near where Perez’s body was found, Julia is certain that she spots her estranged father, small-time grifter and con man Duke Gooden, even though she was only seven when he vanished 30 years earlier. Julia drops everything and renews her intensive search for clues to the near-simultaneous disappearance of her nine-year-old brother, Ben, which the reader knows from the first chapter is related to Angel’s murder. The brief encounter with Duke may or may not have been planned, but it resurrects Julia’s seething obsession with her brother’s whereabouts. Inevitable run-ins with killers plus clashes with law enforcement, including main squeeze Detroit police detective Ray Navarro, ensue as Julia wends a circuitous route to help solve more than one crime. Fans are certain to enjoy the complex plot and Julia and Ray’s evolving relationship. Agent: Priya Doraswamy, Lotus Lane Literary. (Apr.)