Stick or Twist

British author Janes (Swimming in the Shadows) strikes the perfect balance between gore and sappiness in this satisfyingly sweet police procedural. Det. Constable Peter Betts and Det. Sgt. Hannah McMahon make a more-than-professional connection while reexamining the cold case kidnapping of heiress Jude Thackeray, whose unknown captor let her get away. Jude has since become romantically involved with Mark Medlicott, who tries to help her through the aftershocks of her past trauma, though his motives for doing so may not be the purest. Meanwhile, a loner named Stefan makes disturbing plans on an isolated beach in Cornwall. The bold pairing of the good-natured secret relationship between Peter and Hannah and the sordid romantic intrigue involving Mark and Jude raises readers’ interest in both. Janes deftly, suddenly transforms her audience’s understanding of her protagonists several times without making delayed disclosures feel like literary trickery, keeping tension high to the very end. (Dec.)