Not That I Could Tell

Early in this engrossing domestic thriller from Strawser (Almost Missed You), Kristin Kirkland disappears with her school-age twins. Her soon-to-be ex-husband, Dr. Paul Kirkland, an ob-gyn in Yellow Springs, Ohio, reports them missing. Kristin inherited a $1 million life insurance settlement when her first husband was killed in a tragic boating accident while she was pregnant with the twins. Has she vanished thinking that her money might be depleted in a divorce settlement, or is something more nefarious taking place? A search of Kristin’s computer reveals recent visits to websites advising victims of spousal abuse. Paul, already under some suspicion, comes under intense police scrutiny. As the investigation proceeds, women who socialized with Kristin begin to examine their own lives. Short passages threaded throughout the narrative, presumably written by Kristin, reveal the pain in her marriage and her need to escape before she is murdered. The mysteries of whether Paul is culpable, and, if so, how and whether he will be discovered, make for a taut tale. Agent: Barbara Poelle, Irene Goodman Literary. (Mar.)