Ash Island

The gripping second installment of Maitland’s Belltree trilogy (after 2015’s Crucifixion Creek) finds Det. Sgt. Harry Belltree and his pregnant wife, Jenny, exiled from Sydney to Newcastle, Australia. As Harry probes into the hit-and-run that killed his parents and claimed Jenny’s vision three years earlier, he discovers a connection to Karl Nordlund, a powerful, unscrupulous businessman, and Karl’s troubled niece. At the same time, a series of brutal homicides pits Harry against an unsavory local character with a vendetta against him and a Sydney gang with whom he’s tangled before. Meanwhile, reporter Kelly Pool crosses paths with Harry again when her search for the woman who arranged her kidnapping takes her to Newcastle. Maitland adroitly balances multiple characters and plot lines, weaving together apparent coincidences into a complex, compelling tale of far-reaching greed and corruption. Armchair travelers will enjoy this foray Down Under, and the heart-wrenching ending is sure to leave them eager for the trilogy’s final volume. (Nov.)