Where I Can See You

Set in what might be rural Michigan, this gripping if overwrought crime novel from Sweazy (A Thousand Falling Crows) focuses on a detective’s personal obsessions. Homicide detective Hud Matthews, having left the Detroit police under dubious circumstances, has returned to the decaying lakeside resort town where he grew up and where his mother disappeared when he was just a boy. Besides joining the overwhelmed local police to solve a baffling series of murders, Hud pokes at his mother’s cold case, to the residents’ dismay. He can’t help himself, as the action staggers relentlessly onward, revealing the little town’s secrets. What, for example, is Hud supposed to think when he discovers a photograph of his mother in the company of his best friend’s father, his best friend being the sheriff who just hired him? Set in autumn, the story is overloaded with images of death and despair, but it will intrigue readers willing to grope through the gloom. Agent: Cherry Weiner, Cherry Weiner Literary Agency. (Jan.)