cover image Chillwater Cove

Chillwater Cove

Thomas Lakeman, . . St. Martin?s Minotaur, $24.95 (325pp) ISBN 978-0-312-34800-7

At the start of Lakeman’s compelling second mystery (after 2006’s The Shadow Catchers ), FBI Special Agent Peggy Weaver, who works for the Crimes Against Children Unit in Philadelphia, receives a chilling memento of a childhood tragedy—e-mailed porn photos that depict her best friend at age 10, obviously from the lens of the abductor who snatched her while Peggy escaped. When that victim, now college professor Samantha Stallworth, calls to tell her she has received the same photos, Weaver heads home to Avalon, Tenn., an isolated college community with sharp divisions between town and gown as well as black and white. Peggy’s homecoming reignites friction with her father, Avalon’s police chief, who had always berated her for being a poor eye-witness to the abduction. When Samantha goes missing once again, this time with no witness, Peggy pursues the case frantically, obstructed by town police, Samantha’s powerful in-laws, her own personal demons and some very real ones. Rich atmosphere, an intriguing plot and a solid heroine make this one another winner for Lakeman. (Nov.)