Unknown Means

Forensic scientist Evelyn James of the Cleveland Medical Examiner's office returns for this welcome second novel, following Becka's debut, Trace Evidence . Single mother Evelyn must manage her relationship with her sullen teenage daughter, her sputtering romance with homicide detective David Milaski and the demands of a job she loves. As the book opens, a wealthy woman is found murdered in a locked apartment; soon, Evelyn's friend and colleague Marissa Gonzalez, who lives in the same high-security building as the murdered woman, is attacked twice, and another woman is murdered elsewhere. Evelyn works with Milaski and his partner, Bruce Riley, to find the connection among the victims. In addition, claustrophobic Evelyn must collect trace evidence following a salt mine explosion under Lake Erie. Becka, a Cape Coral, Fla., forensic scientist formerly with the Cleveland coroner's office, keeps the details of this gripping procedural vivid all the way up to the harrowing finale. Fans of Patricia Cornwell's prickly Kay Scarpetta will find Evelyn a complementary contrast. (Feb.)