British author Norman makes up for a pedestrian start with a mind-blowing ending in this sequel to 1999’s Mind Games
that brings back Sam Becket, an African-American homicide detective; Becket’s wife, child psychologist Grace Lucca; and their adopted daughter, Cathy. After someone viciously bludgeons janitor Rudolph Muller to death on a Miami beach, a crime accompanied by some bestial howls of rage that sounded less than human, Becket takes on the case. Soon other victims surface, both in and out of Becket’s jurisdiction, but the main suspect proves to be disturbingly close to home: ambitious rookie cop Teresa Suarez, the attractive but obsessed girlfriend of Becket’s younger brother, Saul. Despite merely adequate prose, Norman pulls off the rare feat of unveiling the killer mid-book, maintaining tension and suspense by revealing an unexpected but logical plot twist. Her fearless willingness to kill off sympathetic characters and explore the dark side of the human psyche should earn her some new fans. (Jan.)
