cover image BAD MOON RISING

BAD MOON RISING

Katherine Sutcliffe, . . Jove, $6.99 (340pp) ISBN 978-0-515-13487-2

Scary, sexy and at times stomach-turning, Sutcliffe's newest romantic suspense novel (after Darkling I Listen) has all the ingredients her fans have come to crave. There's a serial killer on the loose in New Orleans who was supposedly executed years earlier. Attorney J.D. Damascus has always believed the NOPD put away the wrong guy, and now that more hookers are turning up dead, he's sure of it. But his drunken meltdown following the murders of his wife and children has left him with few friends on the force. Once a hotshot assistant district attorney, J.D. now handles cases for prostitutes and junkies who can rarely pay for his services. When Holly Jones calls him after finding his name on the jailhouse wall, he figures she's just another hard-luck case, but he finds himself drawn to her in spite of himself. Holly's in town looking for her friend Melissa, a hooker who may be the killer's latest victim. As J.D. and Holly draw closer to uncovering the truth, they find in each other the possibility for healing. Readers will race through this briskly paced book and relish its many twists and turns. The romantic tension between Sutcliffe's protagonists feels forced at times, and their sex scenes, while steamy, are abrupt. Overall, however, this is a solidly plotted, absorbing read. (June 3)