Red Flags

This solid series launch from bestseller Black (the Maggie Gardiner and Jack Renner series) introduces forensics experts Ellie Carr and Rachael Davies. Ellie, part of the FBI’s evidence response team in Washington, D.C., arrives at a mansion on the banks of the Potomac to investigate the disappearance of four-month-old Mason Carlisle, who vanished from his crib in the middle of the afternoon with no trace and, so far, no ransom demand. The baby’s father, Hunter, owns a lobbying firm, and his mother, Rebecca, is a policy adviser to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. She also happens to be Ellie’s cousin, with whom she hasn’t communicated in more than 15 years. Hunter, not satisfied with the FBI’s progress, calls in Rachael from the Locard Institute, one of the best equipped forensics labs in the country, to help with the investigation. Soon other children whose parents are connected to an online gaming site are kidnapped, and Ellie and Rachael join forces to solve a multilayered crime. Black packs the novel with fascinating details for crime scene buffs, who will eagerly await the next case for the intrepid CSIs. Agent: Vicky Bijur, Vicky Bijur Literary. (Aug.)