Treadmill

In this darkly humorous thriller from Adler (Cult), it takes a little while for the contours of the tricky plot to become apparent, but the payoff is well worth the delay in gratification. Jack Cooper has hit a rough patch in his life. His mother has just died, his wife has left him for another man, and he’s lost his advertising job. In his loneliness, he buys two weeks’ worth of microwavable meals and eats them without tasting them. Jack’s sole regular social outlet is a health club in Bethesda, Md., frequented by Mike Parrish, an acquaintance. Jack gets used to working out at the same time as Parrish and is disconcerted when he suddenly stops showing up at the gym. When Jack’s curiosity and unease at the change in routine lead him to ask questions, strange things begin happening that only stoke his suspicions that Parrish is a victim of foul play. Very few readers, if any, will anticipate what the truth turns out to be. (BookLife)