Kiss Her Goodbye

Gardner’s riveting fourth Frankie Elkin novel (after Still See You Everywhere) focuses on an Afghan refugee family’s fight for survival. After recovering from a traumatic case, Frankie heads to Tucson, where Sabera Ahmadi has gone missing shortly after her family’s arrival in Arizona. The police have yet to open a missing person’s file, believing it’s a simple case of Sabera fleeing her domineering husband, but Sabera’s best friend contacts Frankie because she refuses to believe Sabera would leave her three-year-old daughter behind. She’s proven right when Sabera’s husband vanishes soon after, and then an unseen assailant attempts to abduct the couple’s daughter from their home. Frankie leaps into action, but when Sabera is caught on video surveillance running from the scene of a double homicide, it becomes clear that there’s more to the story than meets the eye. Gardner punctuates the proceedings with pages from Sabera’s journal detailing her life before and after leaving Afghanistan, helping readers feel her absence as acutely as the other characters do. Heartbreaking violence and masterful suspense elevate things further. This will thrill the series’ existing fans, and it’s a great starting point for newcomers. Agents: Meg Ruley and Rebecca Scherer, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Aug.)