Things We Do in the Dark

At the start of this taut if flawed psychological thriller from Hillier (Little Secrets), the police find Paris Peralta in her Seattle home holding a bloody razor over her husband, comedian Jimmy Peralta, who’s lying dead in the bathtub, and arrest her. Because Jimmy was on the cusp of launching a much anticipated comeback, the media attention surrounding the case threatens to expose Paris’s long-hidden secrets to a ruthless blackmailer. Meanwhile, Drew Malcolm, a journalist turned crime podcaster, receives word that notorious killer Ruby Reyes (aka the Ice Queen), now perceived as a victim of sexual abuse, is about to be freed on parole after serving 25 years of a life sentence for the murder of her rich married lover. Drew knew Ruby’s teenage daughter, who became a drifter after her mother went to prison and later died in a mysterious fire, and decides to focus his latest podcast on the Reyes case. Some readers may find the use of flashbacks to reveal the obvious connection between the two stories cumbersome, and the solution to Jimmy’s murder may strike others as perfunctory. Still, this heartfelt account of one woman’s attempt to break free of an abusive childhood will resonate with many. Agent: Victoria Skurnick, Levine Greenberg. (July)