The Vacancy in Room 10

Two women face violent relationship troubles at a seedy apartment complex in this entertaining thriller from Glass (The Vanishing Hour). Struggling New Mexico reporter Anna Hartley receives a frantic call from her husband, Henry, who confesses to “ruin[ing] everything” and killing someone. Then she hears a bang at the other end of the line, and Henry drops dead; when authorities recover his body from the Rio Grande, they rule his death a suicide. Anna responds by moving into the Sycamores, the dilapidated apartment complex where Henry rented an art studio, and trying to decode his final moments. She quickly becomes entangled in the Sycamores’ many personal dramas, and before long, begins receiving threatening messages urging her to stop her investigation. Might one of the Sycamores’ residents be responsible for Henry’s death? Meanwhile, Sycamores property manager Cassidy Abbott flounders to get back on her feet after the end of a bad relationship, and begins blackmailing unfaithful or violent men for personal catharsis. Glass paints on a broad canvas, working with perhaps too many characters and subplots, but she still manages to maintain tension and intrigue through to the satisfying end. The author’s fans will devour this. Agent: Sharon Bowers, Folio Literary. (Apr.)