No Home for Killers

At the start of this grim, so-so thriller from Aymar (The Unrepentant), Melinda Peña, a former social worker specializing in helping abused women in McLean, Va., learns that her estranged brother, Markus, a musician who was also an abuser, has been murdered. Since Markus had many enemies, there are plenty of suspects. Markus’s ex-girlfriend, Rebecca Winters, thinks her wealthy uncle, Victor Winters, a commercial real estate developer who’s also a sex-trafficker, killed Markus. Melinda and her sister, Emily Peña, secretly a vigilante who preys upon male abusers, join forces with Rebecca to investigate Markus’s murder and his relationship to Victor. Meanwhile, numerous flashbacks that interrupt the main plot reveal the women’s own deadly secrets. Brutality abounds, especially in scenes involving sex workers who are abused by Victor. This dismaying portrait of a tragically dysfunctional family is loaded with both interpersonal and individual psychological conflicts played out through shallow characterizations and voiced in often awkward dialogue, especially between Melinda and Emily. It’s sad, unconvincing, and not for the squeamish. Agent: Michelle Richter, Fuse Literary. (Feb.)