Catch Me

Publishers Weekly The well-wrought suspense offsets the shaky plot of bestseller Gardner’s sixth novel featuring Boston Sgt. Det. D.D. Warren (after 2011’s Love You More). Charlene Rosalind Carter Grant, a 28-year-old police dispatch officer with a horrific childhood, expects to be murdered on January 21. One of her two best friends was strangled at home on January 21 two years earlier; exactly a year later, her other best friend suffered the same fate. On January 17, Grant seeks out Warren at a crime scene and asks the homicide detective to investigate her expected murder. Meanwhile, Warren is looking into the execution-style slayings of two pedophiles. Rookie sex crime detective Ellen O brings her expertise to this second case. Gardner skillfully tacks back and forth from Grant’s childhood traumas to her preparations to face a killer as it becomes increasingly murky whether Grant is victim, predator, or both. Fans should enjoy the numerous cameos by characters from other Gardner novels. Author tour. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Feb.)