Cherry Bomb: A Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels Mystery

At the start of Konrath’s brisk and breezy sixth Jack Daniels mystery, the guilt-ridden Chicago cop, who’s attending the funeral of a loved one, takes a call from Alexandra Kork, the sadistic psychopath who did in the loved one at the end of 2008’s Fuzzy Navel (“I checked the Weather Channel.... It’s raining in Chicago. That’s appropriate, don’t you think? Funerals on sunny days seem so wrong”). Barred from the official hunt for Kork because she’s personally involved in the case, Daniels soon finds herself on the wrong side of the law with few of the usual resources to call on. Meanwhile, the wily Kork, who’s stopped counting her victims (after 50 they blur), strews bodies over a wide area as part of a scheme to lead Daniels to a slow and painful death. Konrath leavens the violence with offbeat humor, including a feces-throwing monkey in love with a cashmere sweater. The slam-bang ending is sure to satisfy series fans. (July)