Lost to Dune Road

Disgraced journalist Natalee Ellerin plunges back into the mega-rich and shadowy milieu that ruined her career in the suspenseful latest from Thomas (That Weekend). Five years ago, Natalee wrote a story linking a man who lived on the Hamptons’ exclusive Dune Road to a young girl’s murder. After the suspect killed himself, evidence emerged exonerating him of any wrongdoing, stripping Natalee of her job and credibility. Since then, she’s opened a PI firm and attempted to rebuild her life. One afternoon, she receives a call from the mother of pregnant college student Amanda Hartley, who was recently discovered bloodied and barely alive in a luxury New York City apartment building. Though the NYPD write Amanda’s injuries off as a suicide attempt, her mother doesn’t buy it. Natalee agrees to dig around, seeking out info on the paternity of Amanda’s baby and the source of her suddenly flush income. Her investigation brings her face-to-face with rampant police corruption and the depravity of New York’s elite. Eventually, the case leads Natalee back to Dune Road, casting new light on her long-ago mistake. Thomas keeps her foot on the gas while shifting gears between a cast of plausible suspects, a handful of well-earned plot twists, and a serviceable romantic subplot for Natalee. This has all the ingredients to satisfy mystery fans. Agent: Sarah Landis, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Apr.)