Forget What You Know

Bestseller Dodd’s busy sequel to 2022’s Point Last Seen opens a thousand years ago in Tajikistan, where a miner discovers a fabulous ruby. A holy man, who recognizes that “the gem held the potential to incite violence,” places the ruby inside a jewel-encrusted statue of a dragon, which many centuries later is spirited off to a collector in California. In the present, Zoey Phoenix, a flower breeder in Gothic, Calif., a small town known as “a center of mystical energy,” winds up in the hospital after her car is run off the road. Her mother, Morgayne Phoenix, enlists Zoey’s ex-husband, former professional wrestler Luca Damezas, to look after her while she recovers. Shortly thereafter, Morgayne drops out of sight, others are murdered, and Zoey’s life is threatened. Who is behind these deaths, and why target Zoey? Fortunately, the author keeps on reminding readers of the whos, wheres, and whys of the hodgepodge of a plot, which contains a touch of magic, a dollop of mayhem, a drizzle of psychosis, a large splash of obsession, and just the right amount of sweet romance. This is for established Dodd fans only. Agent: Annelise Robey, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Mar.)