Don’t Look Down

At the start of Davidson’s gripping second Shadows of New York novel (after 2019’s One Small Sacrifice), successful entrepreneur Jo Greaver confronts a stranger she believes is blackmailing her in his apartment in a seedy Manhattan neighborhood. The two exchange gunfire. NYPD Det. Sheryn Sterling and her partner, Rafael Mendoza, are later called to the scene, where Andray Baxter has been shot dead. Clues lead them to Jo, who’s suffering from a bullet wound, and they arrest her after she flees to New Jersey. Initially, the case seems straightforward: Jo killed her blackmailer with the gun the police found in her apartment. But Sheryn doesn’t like the case or the evidence: though the ballistics match the bullet found in the murder victim, Jo’s prints aren’t on the gun. And the well-liked Andray wasn’t the criminal type. With Rafael’s help, Sheryn is determined to unearth the truth. Davidson keeps the reader guessing to the satisfying conclusion. Crime fiction fans will welcome this tale of family, secrets, resilience, and revenge.[em] Agent: Mitch Hoffman, Aaron M. Priest Literary. (Feb.) [/em]