cover image When They Come for You

When They Come for You

James W. Hall. Thomas & Mercer, $15.95 trade paper (288p) ISBN 978-1-4778-4867-8

Harper McDaniel, the heroine of this thrilling series launch from Edgar-winner Hall (The Big Finish and 11 other Thorn novels), has recently lost her celebrity photographer mother to suicide, but she takes comfort in her loving husband, Ross, an investigative reporter for the Miami News, and their baby son, Leo, with whom she lives in Coconut Grove, Fla. Then one evening Harper returns home from a charity event to find cops and firefighters outside the remains of her house, which has been destroyed by fire. Inside she finds Ross and Leo, who have both been shot dead. Assisted by her brother, Nick, a resettlement specialist for the World Bank, and her gangster grandfather, she sets off to track down the killer. Her quest leads her to Africa, Switzerland, and Spain, where she pieces together a mosaic of crimes linked to the deaths of scores of innocent people. A woman of action, Harper fights her own battles, takes her own risks, and sets her own traps. This intricately plotted novel delivers a protagonist to root for and villains worthy of the name. Agent: Ann Rittenberg, Ann Rittenberg Literary Agency. (Sept.)