Five

Austrian children’s book author Archer makes her U.S. debut with her first adult novel, a riveting mystery that centers on geocaching, the hunt for hidden objects using only a GPS device. Near Abtenau, a woman’s body is found at the bottom of a rock face with hands tied behind her back. Her feet are tattooed with a series of letters and numbers indicating GPS coordinates, which lead Det. Beatrice Kaspary of the Salzburg State Office of Criminal Investigation and her colleagues to a box containing a man’s severed hand and clues to yet another location. The chain continues, and further body parts become clues to the whereabouts of yet more victims. Plagued with a secret from her past that she’s never shared, exasperated by her ex-husband, and taunted by texts from the ghoulish killer, Beatrice is in a frantic race to determine what the victims have in common so she can apprehend the murderous game master. The suspense builds until the shocking climax. Agent: Carolin Mungard, Rowohlt Verlag GmbH (Germany). (Dec.)