Paying the Ferryman: A Naomi Blake Novel

At the start of Adams’s gripping eighth Naomi Blake mystery (after Gregory’s Game), set in Ferrymouth, England, 14-year-old Sarah Griffin is awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of her mother and stepfather arguing downstairs with someone who sounds like her natural father. When she hears gunfire, she knows her mother and stepfather are dead, and flees the house with her 15- month-old half-brother in her arms. The police find only one clue at the crime scene: the business card of retired police detective Naomi Blake. The double murder appears to be linked to the last big case Naomi handled before the accident that blinded her. Aided by her retired inspector spouse, Alec Friedman, Naomi sets out to locate a relative to care for Sarah and track down the killer. As the action builds to a satisfying ending, Naomi faces the terrifying prospect of confronting the last man she put in prison. (Dec.)