This Is Why We Lied

A honeymoon turns into a grisly locked-room mystery in Slaughter’s harrowing 12th outing for Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Will Trent (following After That Night). Will and his bride, medical examiner Sara Linton, plan to celebrate at McAlpine Lodge in northwest Georgia, but on the night they arrive, hotel manager Mercy McAlpine is murdered in one of the property’s cabins. Will and Sara jump into action, first turning their suspicion toward Mercy’s abusive ex-husband, whom Will knows from the time they spent together in an Atlanta boy’s home. As Will and Sarah continue to poke around, however, other suspects come into focus, including Mercy’s hot-tempered father and ice-cold mother, who hope to force a sale of the lodge, and a guest who has intimate knowledge of Mercy’s criminal past. After Will’s Bureau of Investigation colleagues show up, the body count rises, and Will unearths some unspeakable secrets within the McAlpine clan. The subject matter gets almost operatically bleak, but Slaughter saves the day with her gifts for suspense and characterization—Mercy, in particular, makes an impression. This long-running series still has gas in the tank. Agent: Victoria Sanders, Victoria Sanders & Assoc. (Aug.)