I Am Watching

In 1996, 15-year-old Isla Bell, the heroine of this engrossing mystery from Kavanagh (The Missing Hours), finds three bodies strangled and lined up against Hadrian’s Wall in the moorlands of Brigandon, England. Two more murders follow before Isla’s father, Det. Sgt. Eric Bell, apprehends the killer, Heath McGowan, and gains widespread fame that propels him to a successful law enforcement career. Twenty years later, Isla is a professor of criminal psychology at the University of Northumberland, where she studies the minds of serial killers. When a woman is found strangled and propped against Hadrian’s wall, Briganton once again is overtaken with fear. Brought in to solve the case, Eric insists on running the investigation his own way and clashes with a relatively new member of the force, Det. Constable Mina Arian, over how to proceed. Meanwhile, Isla persuades the incarcerated Heath to take part in her research. As more victims turn up, the police wonder whether a copycat is at work, or is the killer getting help from Heath? Kavanagh keeps the suspense high to the chilling conclusion. [em]Agent: Camilla Wray, Darley Anderson Literary (U.K.). (Apr.) [/em]