The Turner Journals

Paging through his wife's diary after her death from an aneurysm at age 32, hack writer Nick Turner is amazed to read of her many infidelities. He decides on vengeance, and a new serial killer is born. Because the murder methods he uses vary, the NYPD are slow to spot a pattern, but eventually the dogged and utterly unambitious Detective First-grade Dennis McQueen does take note, and the chase is on. Slight plotting, leisurely yet sustained pacing, McQueen's wily, unstudied charm and, for a good while, Turner's warped yet believable logic, all conspire to keep readers raptly turning pages. But the narrative begins to unravel as Nick goes from hack to bestseller, his list of victims dries up and his desire to kill becomes wrapped up in his desire to write. Leigh turns to graphic sexual imagery for a scene with a lusty book editor, rushes into a taut chase and sets up a frenzied bloodbath at a booksellers' convention. His final revelation concerning Mrs. Turner's lurid writings will surprise very few readers. This highly enjoyable story by a pseudonymous crime writer pulls up short just before the final stretch. (June)