What She Never Said: A Santa Barbara Suspense

In Riggs’s clever second suspense novel set in Santa Barbara, Calif. (after 2018’s What She Gave Away), a corporation solely concerned with profit has bought Serenity Acres, a retirement community for the wealthy. Ruth Mosby, the community’s v-p of operations, must work with the ruthless new director, whose job she coveted. When elderly residents start dying and someone leaves a note with each person’s name and death date beside each body, Ruth asks her former police detective neighbor, Zach Richards, to quietly investigate. If a mercy killer is responsible, that could destroy the community’s reputation. Meanwhile, Adam, Ruth’s addict son, returns home, and Zach persuades Ruth, against her better judgment, to help Adam get a job in the Serenity Acres kitchen. The tension rises when Adam discovers the corpse of a nurse who supplied drugs to workers. To complicate matters, Adam and Zach lie about the incident. More murders follow. Riggs keeps the tension high to the dramatic climax. Readers will look forward to the next installment. Agent: Rebecca Scherer, Jane Rotrosen Agency. [em](Sept.) [/em]