Obsession Falls

Bestseller Dodd incorporates a touch of the paranormal into her occasionally uneven second Virtue Falls contemporary romantic thriller (after Virtue Falls). Artist and interior decorator Taylor Summers is sketching in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains when she witnesses two hired killers and their intended victim. Taylor disrupts the boy’s murder and flees into a mountain cave; she emerges to the news she has been declared dead by the local sheriff and is presumed responsible for the boy’s kidnapping. As a “deceased” fugitive, Taylor resourcefully employs skills learned from her father and the Internet to survive until she can contact the boy’s uncle, wealthy but trust-allergic Kennedy McManus, and share her story. Taylor is likewise sought by Kennedy, who’s certain she’s still alive, as well as the mysterious Jimmy, the power behind the hit men. The players’ paths converge in Virtue Falls, Wash., which is still recovering from the events of the first installment, and deadly games play out with occasionally hyperbolic scenes until the explosive conclusion. Despite the hardcover format, this slightly overblown thriller has a fun mass-market vibe. (Sept.)