A Place in the Wind

The disappearance of 17-year-old Catherine Archer propels Chazin’s nail-biting fourth mystery featuring detective Jimmy Vega (after 2016’s No Witness but the Moon). The girl was last seen at La Casa, the community center in Lake Holly, N.Y., where she volunteered. Run by Adele Figuero, Jimmy’s girlfriend, La Casa serves the local immigrant population. A security video taken the night Catherine vanished shows a blond girl resembling her walking out of Hank’s Deli with Guatemalan Rolando Benitez-Ochoa. Catherine’s body is found in the woods, and Rolando becomes the prime suspect in her murder. Rolando’s stepbrother, Wilfredo Martinez-Ochoa, a premed student, is arrested for lying to the police about Rolando’s whereabouts. Adele, to prevent Wilfredo’s life from being destroyed by the community’s anti-immigrant fervor, takes him under her protection, further outraging people already angry at her for running the center. Jimmy, meanwhile, comes to believe Rolando is innocent and, despite police disapproval, doesn’t rest until he uncovers the truth in this tense page-turner. Agent: Stephany Evans, FinePrint Literary Management. (Oct.)