Time of Departure

Schofield’s engrossing debut with a Twilight Zone twist teams feisty Florida state prosecutor Claire Talbot and much older—but still sexy—retired cop Marc Hastings. For reasons Claire can’t understand—yet—Marc tries to interest her in taking a fresh look at the unsolved string of abductions of eight young Gainesville-area women in the late 1970s, his final investigation. Not 24 hours later, skeletal remains of two women are discovered during a highway excavation—and at least one looks to be a match with a ’70s victim. Needless to say, Claire finds this puzzling, and more than slightly suspicious. But she begins to become equally unnerved by the uncanny way that Marc, with whom she is rapidly falling into a relationship, knows so many personal, even intimate details about her. It’s a tribute to criminal lawyer Schofield’s persuasive powers that his characters, procedural elements, and atmosphere are convincing enough to keep those pages turning without logic getting in the way. Agent: Kim Witherspoon, Inkwell Management. (Dec.)