The Good Lie

This effective thriller from bestseller Torre (If You Dare) opens with teenager Scott Harden staggering home after apparently escaping from the Bloody Heart Killer, who has kidnaped, sexually tortured, and killed six other high school students, “all popular, wealthy, and well liked,” over the last three years. When Scott identifies science teacher Randall Thompson as the BHK, the case seems closed. However, high-profile attorney Robert Kavin, father of one of the earlier victims, declares that he doesn’t believe Thompson is guilty and volunteers to lead his defense. Robert hires Gwen Moore, a psychiatrist who specializes in potentially dangerous clients, to prepare a profile of the killer and match it to Thompson, but Gwen is distracted by the recent suicide of one of her most disturbed patients, John Abbott. Should she have seen it coming—and why is Robert so curious about Abbott? Meanwhile, Scott’s mother realizes that the young man is lying. The erotic tension between Gwen and Robert adds heat to the tricky plot. This kinky tale is compulsively readable. Agent: Maura Kye-Casella, Don Congdon Assoc. (July)