The Dorchester Five

Boston’s historic, multicultural neighborhood of Dorchester provides the backdrop for this engrossing crime novel from Manus (Fickle). One hot summer afternoon, an old woman who’s a churchgoer and pillar of the community is hit by a car and killed. An angry mob overturns the car, which bursts into flames, leaving Jakey Culligan, the young man behind the wheel, badly burned and permanently brain-damaged. Five men are charged and brought to trial, and all but one are released. Now, eight years later, a serial killer is targeting Jakey’s lawyer and the men who were tried for the incident. The narrative alternates between entries in the diaries of Marina Papanikitas, a police detective assigned to the case and self-described “spastic psychic,” and the voice of Nightingale, a dedicated killer with a flair for disguise who has a knack for getting into the minds of others—and who identifies with French actress Jeanne Moreau. The book offers some fun for fans of ’60s noir, Hitchcock, and schlock horror films. Agent: John Silbersack, Trident Media. (Aug.)