Alone in the Dark

The latest romantic thriller from Rose (set in Cincinnati, like 2014’s Closer Than You Think) deftly mixes a family crime saga and the horrors of human trafficking into a murder investigation. When detective Scarlett Bishop gets a call from newspaper publisher Marcus O’Bannion in the middle of the night, she’s drawn into a murder case that touches on both of their dark pasts and includes a huge criminal operation specializing in slavery. Rose doesn’t shy away from big casts—there are dozens of characters at play here, all well-defined—or explicit brutality, especially during the subplot in which the head villain tortures and kills members of his own organization to uncover a traitor. The copious (and extremely hot) sex and often-graphic violence combine into a solid tale that’s marred only by a lazy cliché when Scarlett taunts a suspect about the possibility of being sexually assaulted in prison. That blemish aside, it’s a gripping story, with enough groundwork laid for plenty of sequels. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (Feb.)