A Forgotten Kill

Former Fairfax County, Va., police commander Maldonado continues her Daniela Vega series (after A Killer’s Game) in fine form, with the FBI special agent uncovering new evidence about her father’s murder. Ten years ago, Dani’s mother, Camila, was arrested and institutionalized at Bellevue Hospital for murdering Dani’s father, Sergio, after suffering a mental break. After years of trying, the staff has finally gotten Camila to speak—and she’s begun to claim she’s innocent. Dani convinces NYPD detective Stan Chapman to reopen the case, in exchange for her help in finding a link between the 23 unsolved murders on his plate. Leaning on her experience as a code-breaker and Army Ranger, Dani determines that a serial killer has been roaming New York City for over a decade, targeting primarily Hispanic women after stalking them and breaking into their apartments. As she digs deeper into the case files, she discovers her father was killed around the same time as a woman in a nearby apartment—leading her to wonder if the same murderer Chapman has been chasing was responsible for Sergio’s death. Maldonado’s years of law enforcement experience continue to add grit and texture to the series, and she supplements those details with a barn burner of a climax. Readers will clamor for the sequel. Agent: Liza Fleissig, Liza Royce Agency. (Mar.)