A Murderous Mind: A Naomi Blake Mystery

Early in Adams’s absorbing 11th mystery featuring former policewoman Naomi Blake (after 2014’s Paying the Ferryman), 18-year-old Leanne Bolter, a first-year student at a small Midlands university, is found eviscerated in her bedroom one morning. On viewing the mutilated body, Det. Insp. Tess Fuller can’t help thinking of Jack the Ripper. And yet Leanne’s flat mates, who were sleeping nearby, heard nothing the night before. The crime bears similarities to an unsolved murder that was investigated 15 years earlier by Det. Insp. Joe Jackson, who has since retired in disgrace. Tess consults Naomi, who once served under Jackson and might have insights into how he might have mishandled the earlier case. Tess soon must contend with a team from Internal Affairs reviewing her every step as she tries to suss out patterns and links in other unsolved homicides from around the time of the earlier murder. Fans of contemporary British police procedurals should be well satisfied. (Mar.)