THE ASSASSIN

Butler offers up an emotionally damaged half-black, half-Latino heroine, Key West art gallery owner Selena McCaffrey, who's sure to give J.D. Robb's Eve Dallas a run for the money in this rapid-fire first novel. Life hasn't always been sunshine and roses for beautiful Selena. Fourteen years earlier, she'd been an abused 12-year-old working the mean streets of Jamaica until a wealthy American drug lord, William Davis, rescued her and raised her to take over his business. But Selena has other plans, and they don't include running drugs. Still, she feels sufficiently indebted to William to submit to his demand that she kill a Tulsa cop who's getting too close to exposing William's operation. Selena's target is Det. Tony Ceola, godson to Tulsa's chief of police and her temporary next-door neighbor. When she begins to suspect that William is leading a double life and she's likely to be his next victim, it comes down to kill or be killed. Butler delivers a taut tale with clever twists and turns, lots of well-drawn characters and an unexpected ending, which will allow readers to graciously overlook some obvious plot flaws. Despite those, this is a fine read that will surely bring suspense and crime-drama fans back for the next book in the series. Agent, Andrea Cirillo. (Apr.)