Leave the Girls Behind

Childhood trauma haunts a 26-year-old New Yorker in the disquieting latest from Bublitz (after Before You Knew My Name). Manhattan bartender Ruth-Ann Baker is walking to work in 2015 when an AMBER Alert sends her reeling. Nineteen years ago, Ruth’s best friend, seven-year-old Beth Lovely, went missing from a playground in Hoben, Conn.; police eventually found her body in a shallow grave. Now, another seven-year-old has vanished from the same area. In recent years, Ruth became convinced that Ethan Oswald, who was convicted of killing Beth, also murdered three other girls—a theory conceived when the victims’ ghosts started visiting her. She stopped investigating after friends, family, and the cops questioned her sanity, but now she vows to do whatever it takes to end the cycle. Though Oswald died in prison, Ruth suspects that an accomplice may have taken up his mantle, given the similarity of the crimes. Bublitz’s intricate plot relies too heavily on coincidence, but the present-tense narration imparts urgency and unease, while occasional scenes from a captive child’s perspective ratchet up the tension. Despite a few bumps, it’s a solid sophomore effort. Agent: Rebecca Wearmouth, Peters, Fraser & Dunlop. (Oct.)