Random Act: A Jack McMorrow Mystery

Well-developed characters and convincing dialogue propel Boyle’s solidly plotted 12th mystery featuring Maine freelance journalist Jack McMorrow (after 2016’s Straw Man). While out shopping, Jack hears a scream from inside a box store. He rushes toward the sound and sees Lindy Hines, a friendly, cheerful woman he ran into before entering the store, lying in a pool of blood. Store employees are wrestling a raving, hatchet-wielding man to the floor. Afterward, Jack thinks: “I didn’t want to accept that violent death was doled out randomly, like the number on a scratch ticket. I didn’t want to accept that this nice person had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.” As he interviews those who knew the victim, he uncovers more than one reason why someone might want Lindy dead. Meanwhile, Louis, Jack’s reclusive and wealthy friend, reconnects with a mysterious East European woman, who was Louis’s first love at boarding school years before and now seeks his protection. Each of these parallel stories leads to danger. Readers will enjoy spending time in Jack’s head as he thinks through the murder case. [em](June) [/em]