The Murder That Never Was

Bestseller Kane’s fifth Forensic Instincts novel (after 2015’s The Silence That Speaks) makes suspending disbelief a challenge, especially for readers unwilling to believe that Forensic Instincts, a Manhattan-based “private investigation firm with the reputation that brought clients in by the droves,” has a claircognizant (or psychic) on staff. That employee, Claire Hedgleigh, says that she has “a metaphysical sense in which I simply know something to be true, even though I can’t back any of it up with fact or provide an explanation as to how I know it.” Claire’s talent is put to use when FI gets involved in helping Lisa Barnes, a desperate job seeker. Despite a lack of credentials, Lisa is hired by personal trainer Julie Forman to work in a Chicago women’s gym and is even offered a place to stay. When Julie is gunned down right before Lisa’s eyes, Lisa, who closely resembles the dead woman, decides to assume her identity and flee the city. FI learns of her plight and gets to work identifying Julie’s killer. Thin characters don’t make the improbable plot any more palatable. (May)