cover image A Killer’s Kiss

A Killer’s Kiss

William Lashner, . . Morrow, $24.95 (322pp) ISBN 978-0-06-114346-5

At the start of bestseller Lashner’s superior seventh crime thriller to feature Philadelphia DA Victor Carl (after 2006’s Marked Man ), two police detectives pay Carl a late-night call to inform him that Dr. Wren Denniston, the husband of Carl’s former fiancée, Julia, was found shot to death in his Chestnut Hill mansion earlier that evening. Since Carl, known for his malleable ethics, had been entertaining Julia at his apartment shortly before the detectives’ arrival in an effort to revive their relationship, he becomes a prime suspect in the doctor’s murder. Unsure whether his lover is setting him up, Carl must dodge a rogue’s gallery of villains who had their own reasons for wanting Denniston out of the way before he can uncover the real culprit and figure out Julia’s true feelings for him. Chandler and Hammett fans looking for a fix will be well rewarded. (Sept.)