Cross Her Heart

Leigh (Whisper of Bones) launches a promising series featuring Philadelphia detective Bree Taggert with this tense mystery, inexplicably being marketed as a romance, centered on the ubiquity of domestic and workplace violence against women. Bree returns to her hometown of Grey’s Hollow, N.Y., to take care of her niece and nephew after her sister, Erin, is murdered. Erin was found shot to death in the home of her husband, Justin, from whom she had separated. The crime brings up painful memories for Bree, whose father murdered their mother and then himself when she and Erin were children, but she is determined to solve the mystery. Bree teams up with Justin’s best friend, ex-deputy Matt Flynn, for a back-channel investigation. Each of the terrible men in Erin’s life—her ex, her boss, and a stalker, to name just a few—remain convincing potential suspects right until the thrilling climax. Though the working relationship between Bree and Matt is effortlessly amiable, their chemistry is weak and any hints at a brewing romance are minimal and unresolved. This satisfying mystery will disappoint readers hoping for a love story. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Mar.)