Night Vision: A Naomi Blake Novel

In Adams’s superlative seventh Naomi Blake novel (after 2010’s Blood Ties), Naomi’s husband, Det. Insp. Alec Friedman, looks into the death of Neil Robinson, sent to prison by Alec for fraud but found murdered in his cell a few days before his release date. Alec learns that reporter Jamie Dale, a Christmas card exchanging acquaintance of Naomi’s, died in a suspicious car crash at about the same time, and that Jamie was in contact with Robinson just before his death. Naomi, left alone in the house while Alec pursues the investigation, is confused and terrified by phone calls replaying a recording of Jamie calling Naomi’s name as she dies. Naomi comes to realize that her own involvement in this case is more than incidental. Tight, tense writing, sympathetic but strong characters, deep personal politics, and complexities that never feel contrived make this a heart-pumping, satisfying read. (Apr.)