Cane and Abe

Abe Beckham, the narrator of much of this gripping but flawed stand-alone from bestseller Grippando (Need You Now), still mourns the death of his first wife, Samantha Vine. That’s why Abe, senior trial counsel at the state attorney’s office in Miami-Dade County, keeps close contact with Samantha’s family. This closeness doesn’t sit well with his second wife, Angelina, who wants him to cut all ties with the Vines. Abe complicates his professional life by monitoring the murder investigation of an old flame, Miami attorney Tyla Tomkins, whose mangled body was found in the Everglades. Is Tyla a victim of the machete-wielding serial killer known as Cutter? When Angelina disappears, FBI agent Victoria Santos wonders whether Abe was still romantically involved with Tyla. Grippando keeps the tension high with plausible twists, until the plot comes apart in a rushed ending. Agent: Richard Pine, Inkwell Management. (Jan.)