Night Whispers

The writing team of Carla Peltonen and Molly Swanton scores major kudos with their latest romantic thriller (after Aspen), involving a schizophrenic stalker, a headstrong target and a displaced cop. When Anna Dunning's stalker begins leaving deadly threats, Anna's brother hires ex-cop Mark Righter to act as her bodyguard. Mark had quit the force after having been unjustly accused of planting evidence at a crime scene and needs a job--any job. He makes it a personal quest to find Anna's stalker, but finding him is a tad tricky since there are several different personalities living inside the man's head. Erickson skillfully navigates the fraught task of portraying the mind of a stalker with multiple personalities. Though the action is low-keyed and the hunt methodical, the narrative is shadowy and suspenseful, leaving the reader with a creepy, unsettled feeling of expectation. (Jan.)