Ransom River

Library Journal: Broke and tired of running from her past, Rory Mackenzie returns to her hometown of Ransom River, CA, and immediately lands in a waking nightmare when the courtroom in which she is serving as juror on a murder trial is attacked by terrorists. Rory senses that the attackers, with their outlandish demands and frenetic behavior, are not typical terrorists and that something else is amiss, something related to the past she inadvertently buried many years ago. With the help of her childhood friend (and ex-boyfriend), former cop Seth Colder, Rory races to uncover the mystery, confronting her own history in the process. VERDICT Edgar Award winner Gardiner (China Lake) delivers another smashing hit.Like her Jo Beckett books (The Nightmare Thief), this stand-alone serves up surprising plot twists and leaves room at the end for a possible sequel. Fans of the crime thriller genre will appreciate the well-drawn characters who plumb the depths of humanity and will connect with the especially strong female lead who perseveres to get back up more times than she falls.—Natasha Grant, New York