A Kind of Justice

In James’s solid second novel about hairdresser Bobbi Logan (after 2014’s Transition to Murder), the murder of John Strand—a psychopath who preyed on trans women—comes back to haunt Bobbi. Bobbi, now the owner of the Chicago salon at which she was employed, tries to spend her life focusing on work and on helping her newly widowed ex-wife, who’s in turn trying to raise a young daughter. Meanwhile, Allan Wilkins, a bigoted police detective, believes that Bobbi murdered Strand and is intent on doing whatever he can to prove it. Bobbi, who’s innocent, wonders whether her friend Cecelia, a retired investment banker, might have been involved. She prefers to focus on her business woes in the down economy—and on her attraction to Phil, a Chicago PD officer who’s tried to improve police relationships with the city’s queer community. That no one is ever in any real peril may dismay some mystery fans, but as a character study of the crime’s impact on Wilkins and Bobbi, this outing is effective. Agent: Tina Schwartz, Purcell Agency. (Oct.)