Confidence

In Edgar finalist Mina’s rambling sequel to 2019’s Conviction, Anna McDonald and Fin Cohen, a pair of podcasters whose spouses left each of them for one another, go looking for Lisa Lee, a little-watched maker of videos about urban exploring who went missing after discovering a small silver casket in an abandoned French chateau. Now, the casket, an artifact whose legend purports to offer proof of Pontius Pilate’s conversion to Christianity and the resurrection itself, is up for auction in Paris, and Anna and Fin decide to head there to investigate Lisa’s whereabouts. They’re contacted by Bram van Wyk, a mysterious South African art expert who knows the casket’s recent history and offers to help the podcasters track down Lisa and find out how the object made its way to a Parisian auction house, where deep-pocketed religious collectors are ready to bid fortunes to possess it. A long, confusing journey through Europe ensues, and it becomes clear Bram is in deep trouble if he doesn’t wind up with the casket. Muddled subplots eventually reveal a murky connection to a real-life crime. This convoluted art heist caper isn’t one of Mina’s best. Agent: Henry Dunow, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary. (July)