Cold Heart: A Stella Lavender Mystery

Near the start of Pullen’s muddled sequel to 2013’s Cold Feet, Stella Lavender, a special agent at the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, stops her car to pick up a hitchhiker, Nikki Truly, who looks about 16. After giving Nikki a lecture on the dangers of rape, Stella drives her to Silver Hills, a high-end gated golf community, where Nikki lives and is due to babysit for some neighbors. When they arrive at the home of Kent Mercer, Stella finds Kent lying dead on the deck in a pool of blood; his toddler daughter is missing. Stella turns out to be intimately involved with everyone connected to the case. The night before, acting as an undercover agent, she bought $1,200 worth of oxys from Kent, who was the manager of Clemmie’s, a restaurant owned by former NFL star Lincoln Teller, whom Stella once helped out. Too many coincidences mar this sophomore effort, though Stella, who operates on her own a lot, stretching and breaking rules in the process, is a sympathetic enough lead to sustain a series. (Jan.)