cover image Final Approach

Final Approach

Rachel Brady, . . Poisoned Pen, $24.95 (241pp) ISBN 978-1-59058-655-6

Some smart dialogue and the novelty of a skydiving protagonist lift Brady's less than assured debut. PI Richard Cole gets in touch with Emily Locke, who was inadvertently involved in a missing-child case four years earlier, because he believes her “jumping” skills would be useful in another missing-child case. At Richard's urging, Emily travels from Ohio to Houston, where she immerses herself in the cozy environment of Gulf Coast Skydiving, an establishment that's somehow linked to the disappearance of an 11-month-old boy whose divorced parents share custody. Emily's willingness to drop her daily life and rush off to Houston is one of several slightly flimsy plot points. At Gulf Coast, Emily meets a handsome guitar-playing cowboy, Vince, who's so clearly meant to be Emily's love interest that the reader may be hoping that he turns out bad. On the other hand, Emily's best friend, Jeannie, is a charming smart-aleck who brightens the pages. (Oct.)