Four of a Kind: An Audrey Harte Novel

The disappearance of Tala Lewis, a 17-year-old transgender girl in Eastrock, Maine, kick-starts Kessler’s intense fourth mystery featuring therapist Audrey Harte (after 2017’s Three Strikes). Two months after the amber alert, hikers find Tala’s mutilated remains under some rocks in a state park. Since Tala was a student at Eastrock High School, where Audrey is the school psychologist, she helps students process their feelings about Tala’s death. That Tala was friends with the niece of Audrey’s fiancé, Jake Tripp, makes the case more personal for Audrey. Almost all characters not presented as bullies respect Tala’s gender identity, and Tala’s behavior is described as that of a typical impetuous “mean girl.” But the gory details of what Kessler clearly presents as a hate crime and the bullying experienced by Tala’s boyfriend for his trans partner could be upsetting to some readers. Audrey’s personal history as a murderer has become mostly irrelevant, and developments in her relationship with Jake are forgettable enough that the series may have run its emotional course, though at least one more installment is forthcoming. Agent: Miriam Kriss, Irene Goodman Literary Agency. (Mar.)