One-Eyed Royals

Kingsbridge (Cash Plays) takes readers on a first-rate thrill ride with the tautly plotted fourth in her Seven of Spades romantic suspense series, which will keep readers guessing all the way to the end. Detective Levi Abrams is still in love with his ex-boyfriend, PI Dominic Russo, but can’t bear to watch Dominic spiral downward with his gambling addiction. Tough, tortured Levi is the unwilling darling of an infamous Las Vegas serial killer who goes by the catchy moniker of the Seven of Spades, and the murderer—whose body count now tops 22—seems out to get anyone who tries to harm Levi. That includes the four homophobes who, years earlier, attempted to beat Levi to death outside a gay bar; now they’re turning up dead in Las Vegas. A kidnapping ring with a gruesome calling card—a victim’s extricated eyeball—also keeps Levi and Dominic hopping. Kingsbridge’s plot has plenty of hair-raising turns and skillfully laid red herrings. The graphic violence may scare off the squeamish, but those who hang in there for the duration are rewarded with a tale that will linger long after the final page is turned. (Sept.)