Ellison has a flair for the macabre shared by few writers, and her latest is heartily recommended to anyone who enjoys a scary-good mystery and/or a strong female protagonist.

The murder of Corinne Wolff is horrifying on many levels. A well-off, happily married mother who was expecting a second child, she seemed to be living the American dream. Suddenly, she's the victim of a violent assault, and her daughter's left alone with her corpse for at least 36 hours. Who'd do such a thing? Homicide lieutenant Taylor Jackson and her team have to find out.

Their attention turns to Corinne's husband, Todd, who claims he was out of town on business. Certain elements of his story don't add up, but the evidence suggests his crimes are of a different nature. Taylor's stymied and distracted by a number of things: the absence of her fiancé, FBI profiler John Baldwin, and the distinct feeling that she's being watched. The two are connected in a way that she can't imagine - and that's not the only peril she's facing.

-Catherine Witmer