Closer than She Knows

This brisk, smoothly written thriller from Irvin (Tell Her No Lies) pits court reporter Teagan O’Rourke, a murder mystery lover, against a cunning and vicious serial killer. As Officer Kristin Moreno of the San Antonio, Tex., PD is driving Teagan from the courthouse to the police office building where the reporter will deposit evidence from a trial she’s just participated in, someone shoots Officer Moreno dead with a high-powered rifle. Teagan is barely home from this terrifying experience when she learns that her nextdoor neighbor has been murdered; a note is found nearby addressed to Teagan, ending with the words “I’ll be in touch soon.” Others close to Teagan become targets, and other notes addressed to her turn up, each signed with the name of a fictional murderer. Irvin keeps readers guessing the killer’s identity—and motive—to the climax, where Teagan prays to God to let her get her hands on a gun. Fans of serial killer fiction with a Christian slant will be satisfied. Agent: Julie Gwinn, Seymour Agency. (June)