Eden

In Australian author Fox’s nail-biting follow-up to Hades, Sydney homicide detective Eden Archer goes undercover at a prosperous farm that employs troubled types, in order to find out what happened to three missing young women, one of whom was sleeping with the farm’s owner, Jackie Rye. Meanwhile, crime lord Hades, who raised Eden, has asked her partner, Frank Bennett, to suss out information about a man who seems to be stalking him. The triple narrative is highly effective: Eden’s time on Jackie’s farm is dirty, wretched, and dangerous, though she maintains her cool under pressure, even when she must keep her darker proclivities in check; Frank, who resents Eden for having recently saved his life, is still reeling from a lover’s death; and revelations about Hades’s tragic past demonstrate that love takes many forms and motivations are complicated. Fox keeps her characters firmly in shades of gray, and it’s their complexity that drives this riveting thriller, right through to the gruesome, surprising finale. Agent: Gaby Naher, Naher Agency (Australia). (Sept.)