The desperate search for a missing child makes Newark PI Tamara Hayle's eighth outing (after 2005's Dying in the Dark
) a chilling, thought-provoking read. Gold-digging Lilah Love gave Tamara $30,000 years earlier after some shady doings in Jamaica. Now Lilah's sister, Thelma Lee, has Lilah's daughter, Baby Dal, and refuses to give her back. Lilah threatens harm to Tamara's son, Jamal, unless Tamara takes on her case. Tamara doesn't want to help Lilah, who sees Baby Dal as a bargaining chip, so she lets Treyman Barnes II, the child's wealthy, powerful grandfather, hire her instead. Then Thelma Lee disappears with the baby, and Lilah is found murdered in her car with Jamal's backpack in the rear seat. Tamara realizes she must find Lilah's child in order to protect her own. Wesley recounts Tamara's struggles with equal parts irony, compassion and insight. (Jan.)
