Before She Finds Me

An empty-nester and a pregnant assassin share more similarities than they realize in this serviceable thriller from Chavez (Blood Will Tell). Julia Benet, 38, is waiting in line with her daughter, Cora, for move-in day at Anderson Hughes College in Point Loma, Calif., and is less than thrilled when her ex-husband, Eric, shows up with his new wife, Brie. When shots ring out on campus, Julia takes a bullet to the arm, and two people die—including Brie. At first, the incident is categorized as a motiveless mass shooting, but Julia comes to suspect it may have been a targeted hit on her. Meanwhile, Ren Petrovic, who is four months pregnant with her first child, is finding it increasingly inconvenient to be a professional assassin. When she catches news of the nearby Anderson Hughes shootings on TV, she comes to suspect—based on the timeline of the attack and the weapon used—it was a job by her assassin husband, Nolan. If it was his handiwork, why hadn’t he told her about it? In chapters that alternate perspectives between Julia and Ren, the two women approach their investigations from different directions, and their lives eventually intersect. Erratic pacing and predictable plotting weigh down the proceedings, but Chavez excels at establishing her characters’ voices (especially Ren’s, who casually asks, “What did today’s victims do to deserve to die?”). It’s nothing especially memorable, but fans of character-driven thrillers may enjoy themselves. Agent: Peter Steinberg, UTA. (June)