Rules of Crime

A shocking conclusion makes up in part for a plodding plot and a surfeit of characters in Sellers’s seventh thriller featuring Eugene, Ore., homicide cop Wade Jackson (after 2012’s Liars, Cheaters and Thieves). When Jackson’s ex-wife, Renee, is kidnapped and her fiancé receives a text message demanding $100,000 for her return, FBI agent Carla River takes charge of the case. Jackson, despite his relationship to the victim, joins the hastily assembled task force. River and her team seek to identify, and eliminate, possible suspects; botch an attempted payoff attempt; and try to trace Renee’s movements prior to the kidnapping. A separate case involving the near-fatal beating of a college co-ed occupies Sgt. Lara Evans of the Violent Crime Unit in a case that points toward a sorority hazing gone bad. Evans, who joins the task force late, contributes an important insight that paves the way to a stunning final solution. (Feb.)