No Safe House

Seven years after barely surviving the terrors of No Time for Goodbye (2007), the Archer family of Milford, Conn., once again tempts fate in this darkly comic if decidedly creepy thriller from Arthur Ellis Award winner Barclay. History seems to be repeating itself as mom Cynthia fights to set limits on 14-year-old Grace, who defies her—much as the rebellious 14-year-old Cynthia herself did the night she got drunk with local hood Vince Fleming and her parents and brother disappeared. But Grace’s latest lapse in judgment—agreeing to joyride with pistol-packing bad boy Stuart Koch, whose father assists the now-grown Vince—plunges the entire clan into a deadly perfect storm of greed, violence, dog walkers, and ruthless rival crooks at cross-purposes. The twisty, craftily-plotted action accelerates along with the body count, providing plenty of suspense and a surprising number of laughs—for readers willing to tolerate very bad things befalling some pretty good people. [em]Five-city author tour. Agent: Helen Heller, Helen Heller Agency (Canada). (Aug.) [/em]