Bad

In the opening chapter of Esposito’s overwrought second thriller featuring Alvie Knightly (after 2017’s Mad), Alvie’s twin sister, Beth, slips and hits her head before falling into the swimming pool of her Sicilian villa. Alvie, who was with Beth at the pool’s edge, does nothing to save her from drowning. By chapter’s end, Alvie, now posing as Beth, has murdered or arranged the murder of a number of men, including Beth’s mob-connected husband, before running off with assassin Nino and €2 million to London, where they check into the Ritz. The next morning, Nino steals the euros and leaves her with no clothes. But the resourceful Alvie soon is chasing Nino across Europe with revenge on her mind, using her sister’s passport. The plot spins along on wry humor, well-placed pop culture references, and Alvie’s outsized personality. But Alvie’s self-centeredness and perpetual lack of self-control gets tiresome after a while. Some readers won’t be in a hurry to spend more time with her in the trilogy’s conclusion. Agent: Erin Malone, WME Entertainment. (July)