Fatal Error

Near the start of Jance's entertaining sixth Ali Reynolds thriller (after Trial by Fire), ex-TV anchor Ali agrees to meet Brenda Riley, a former news colleague, at a Peoria, Ariz., bar. Drunk and out of control, Brenda complains to Ali that she can't reach her fiancé, Richard Lattimer, whom she met online but has never met in person. Brenda hasn't even seen his photograph. The shadowy fiancé turns out to be Richard Lowensdale, a cyber stalker who starts intense relationships online, proposes marriage, then blocks the women's e-mails. When Richard is murdered five months later at his Grass Valley, Calif., home, Brenda, who uncovered his hobby and was exposing him to other victims, becomes the likely suspect. Jance keeps firm control of a believable yet complex plot that spins on contemporary issues of cyber stalking and the economic downturn. Spread over several months, the plot never stalls and leads to a logical and exciting finale. (Feb.)