Dear Hannah

A serial killer prowls New York's grimy streets, and every time he strikes an anonymous correspondent sends ballet teacher Hannah Wade the beheaded stem of a rose accompanied by a cryptic message. Then an old schoolmate, Kyle Howard, turns up. He's been nursing a secret crush on Hannah for 18 years and is very persistent. Is there a connection, and can the cops catch up with the action before it's too late for Hannah? Hauser, author of the highly acclaimed The Execution of Charles Horman (basis of the movie Missing, is a first-rate and highly literate suspense writer; this psychological thriller never lets up. Hauser's Upper West Side New Yorkers are persuasively drawn, and his sharply observed version of life in the city is a rare treat. (March 24)