One by One: A Danny Ryan Mystery

In Cain’s compelling sequel to 2016’s The 8th Circle, Philadelphia freelance columnist Danny Ryan, who’s still coping with the deaths of his wife and preteen son in a car accident more than two years earlier, agrees to meet Greg Moss, a jock he knew in high school, at the Shamrock bar. Over a beer, Greg, now a realtor involved in a huge development project, tells Danny that he’s been receiving ominous messages with quotes from the Bible. Greg adds that several of his fellow ex-teammates may have received similar messages and now they’re all dead. The initially reluctant Danny agrees to help and enlists the aid of his police officer brother, Kevin, and a friend from his newspaper days, reporter Alex Burton. Their search for answers leads to increasingly violent events that bring Danny and Alex to the unwanted attention of a highly suspicious Det. Ted Eliot. Hints of a potential romance between Danny and Alex provide some welcome relief from the mounting tension. Agent: Renée C. Fountain, Gandolfo Helin Literary Management. (Mar.)