Shooter in the Shadows

Thomas Honeyman, the hero of this taut thriller from Hewson (the Nic Costa series), made his name and fortune with a true-crime bestseller that claimed to have solved a horrific murder. In 2008, someone locked high school art teacher Mia Buckingham and her 16-year-old student, Scott Sorrell, inside a cabin in Prosper, N.Y., before dousing the building with gasoline and setting it on fire. Honeyman identified firefighter Jorge Rodriguez as the killer, but Rodriguez died in a shoot-out with police before being formally charged. Years later, Honeyman travels to Venice to start a new book dealing with unanswered questions about the killings. But soon after his arrival, the author gets a call from an unidentified man, who claims he’s abducted Honeyman’s daughter, Lauren, and threatens to murder her if Honeyman doesn’t write a new book within four days identifying the person really responsible for the Prosper murders. Hewson does a good job balancing action and characterization. Readers who appreciate nail-biting suspense will be satisfied. (Self-published)