Having barely avoided abduction in her youth (friends Tessa and Hank weren't so fortunate), Rain Winter lives quietly as a stay-at-home mom. Her would-be abductor was murdered upon his release from prison, and now a man acquitted of killing his own wife has been dispatched as well, which draws Rain to investigate. With a 250,000-copy first printing; from the New York Times best-selling author of Under My Skin.

When she was 12, Laraine and her friends Tess and Hank were assaulted and kidnapped. She escaped, but Tess was killed and Hank was held captive for a time. In shock, Laraine never went for help, and that may have resulted in the subsequent death and torture. Eugene Kreskey, the children's captor, was imprisoned, released, and then murdered under mysterious circumstances. More than 20 years later, Laraine has renamed herself Rain and halted a career as a successful investigative reporter to be a stay-at-home wife and mom. When two men are killed under the same circumstances as Kreskey, Rain can't shake the feeling that something is amiss and that she must investigate, despite her husband's objections and her experience of traumatic flashbacks. Simultaneously, the actual killer is watching her from a distance and silently willing her to stop the carnage. A complex game of cat and mouse, this latest from Unger (after Under My Skin) is incisive but descriptive. The alternating chapters, told from Rain's perspective and that of the unknown killer's, work well to and build tangible tension and discomfort.

VERDICT Readers captivated by the works of B.A. Paris and Gillian Flynn will relish this psychological thriller. [See Prepub Alert, 3/11/19.]—Nicole A. Cooke, Sch. of Lib. & Information Science, Univ. of South Carolina

A vigilante is killing people who may have gotten away with murder, most recently a man who was tried but acquitted of killing his pregnant wife, in this cleverly plotted if credulity-challenging psychological thriller from Edgar finalist Unger (Under My Skin) set in a small New York State town. Another victim of the vigilante may have been Eugene Kreskey, who 22 years earlier had a fateful encounter with three 12-year-old friends in the woods: Tess Barker, Hank Reams, and Rain Winter. Tess was killed; Hank was kidnapped but eventually escaped; only Rain eluded Kreskey that day; Kreskey had been stalking her and later spent 10 years in a psychiatric facility. As adults, Hank and Rain have thrived: Happily married Rain is taking a break from her career as a crime reporter to stay home with baby Lily, while Hank has made a name for himself as a psychiatrist specializing in victims of trauma. Despite Rain ostensibly being a stay-at-home mom, the latest case gets her investigating again. Unger's well-honed craft shows in her unmasking the avenger early on and using the reveal to ratchet up suspense. She also squirrels away several startling trump cards for later. Fans of serial killer novels won't be disappointed. Agent: Amy Berkower, Writers House. (Sept.)