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Review_FICTION

notes that were Twenty-One Days: The Dots can be jarring, Eliza’s voice draws
left for him in A Daniel Pitt Novel readers in, and her unreliable memory
his rooms. But Anne Perry. Ballantine, $28 (320p) ISBN 978- creates tension. Gillian Flynn fans will be
before he can 0-399-17988-4 satisfied. Agent: Andy McNicol, William
discuss their Set in 1910, bestseller Perry’s series Morris Endeavor. (Apr.)
contents, a reli- kickoff introducing attorney Daniel Pitt
gious procession fails to impress, in part because Daniel, Warning Light
forces their car the son of the stars of the author’s Thomas David Ricciardi. Berkley, $27 (336p) ISBN 978-
to take a detour, and Charlotte Pitt series (Murder on the 0-399-58573-9
placing them in Serpentine, etc.), is a much less developed Zac Miller, the 28-year-old hero of
the path of an character than his parents. After man- Ricciardi’s gripping first novel and series
assassin who aging to gain an acquittal for a client launch, is on his way to Singapore when
fatally shoots the prince. Sam and charged with murder, the inexperienced one of the engines of the passenger plane
Surrender-Not’s failure to apprehend the Daniel aids in the defense of historian he is on fails over Iran. The plane flies into
killer only makes things worse, and, Russell Graves, who’s on trial at London’s prohibited airspace and lands at an airport
though they eventually track the man Old Bailey for murdering his wife, Ebony. in the small city of Sirjan. The Iranians are
down, he takes his own life, leaving the Even though Ebony’s face and upper body extremely upset because a secret nuclear
investigators still in the dark about his were “burned to the point of total disfig- facility is just minutes from Sirjan and no
motives. The road to the truth takes them urement,” their 19-year-old daughter, Westerners should be anywhere near it.
to Sambalpore, a hive of intrigue and sus- Sarah, was able to identify the body. Zac, in tourist fashion, snaps several pic-
pects. This successful evocation of the Raj When Graves is convicted, Daniel has 21 tures on the way into the terminal, where
in the service of a brilliant whodunit dem- days to find exculpatory evidence before he’s detained by security personnel.
onstrates that Mukherjee’s debut was no the man’s execution. In his search, he Nominally a technology consultant, Zac
fluke. Agent: Sam Copeland, Rogers, encounters a serious moral dilemma. The is really a CIA strategic weapons analyst,
Coleridge & White (U.K.). (Apr.) puzzle’s uninspired solution won’t shake a substitute for the trained field agent
the faith of Perry fans. They know that who was supposed to be on the airliner.
After Anna she’s quite capable of doing better. Agent: After several bouts of torture, Zac escapes
Lisa Scottoline. St. Martin’s, $27.99 (352p) Donald Maass, Donald Maass Literary. and begins a run across land and sea, dis-
ISBN 978-1-250-09965-5 (Apr.) playing plenty of resourcefulness during
In this nail-biting domestic thriller his dangerous journey. He eventually
from Scottoline (One Perfect Lie), promi- The Elizas comes to realize that he’s more suited to a
nent Pennsylvania pediatric allergist Sara Shepard. Atria, $26 (352p) ISBN 978-1- career in the field than behind a desk.
Noah Alderman, a widower, finds love 5011-6277-0 Thriller fans will look forward to his fur-
again with Maggie Ippolitti. She adores At the start of this provocative, if at ther adventures. Agent: Rick Richter,
his son, and they have a happy life. But times predictable, psychological thriller Aevitas Creative Management. (Apr.)
everything changes when Maggie gets a from bestseller Shepard (Everything We
call from her daughter, Anna, whom she Ever Wanted), Burbank, Calif., native Eliza ★ The Big Get-Even
lost custody of when the girl was six Fontaine wakes up in the hospital. Days Paul Di Filippo. Blackstone, $26.99 (302p)
months old. Now a high school student, before, she was fished from the bottom of ISBN 978-1-5047-8391-0
Anna wants to live with her. Maggie is a Palm Springs resort’s swimming pool in Set somewhere in the American west,
thrilled at a second chance, and Noah is what appeared to be her latest suicide this clever thriller from Di Filippo (A
overjoyed for her. But Anna is manipula- attempt. Yet this time, Eliza insists that Palazzo in the Stars) boasts a sophisticated
tive, refuses to follow rules, and pits someone pushed her. Her frustrated scam story line. Glen McClinton, who
Maggie against Noah. Tensions mount. family suggests that she’s unwell and used to be a “young, high-flying legal
When Anna is murdered, Maggie is dev- should check into a facility, but Eliza is eagle,” landed behind bars after bilking
astated. Not only is her daughter dead, certain that she knows the truth and is clients of millions. After his release,
but Noah is convicted of the crime. Noah determined to find out who might have a Glen is directionless until Stan Hasso, a
claims he’s innocent, but Maggie doesn’t reason to want her dead. Meanwhile, her fellow ex-con who might have died of a
believe him. After Maggie receives a call debut novel, The Dots, about a young girl drug overdose shortly after leaving prison
from Anna’s therapist, however, she real- with a brain tumor and the glamorous if Glen hadn’t been there to intervene,
izes things aren’t what they appear and aunt who cares for her, is nearing publica- approaches him with a tempting proposi-
embarks on a mission to find the truth. tion. But the more Eliza looks into her tion. Stan did time for arson after being
Filled with plenty of twists and complex past, the more it’s apparent there are holes betrayed by the man who paid him to
characters, this entertaining story builds in her memory and it’s unclear how much torch buildings, real estate mogul Barnaby
to a satisfying conclusion. Agent: Robert her book of fiction is based on half-recol- Nancarrow. Stan proposes a partnership
Gottlieb, Trident Media Group. (Apr.) lected history. While the shifts between with Glen to fleece Nancarrow out of $20
Eliza’s investigation and excerpts from million by convincing Nancarrow that he

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