When artist Claire Beaudry Chase, the narrator of this gripping psychological thriller from Rice (Last Day), is attacked by a masked man who leaves her for dead in the garage of the home she shares with her abusive husband, Griffin, she suspects Griffin, a Connecticut state's attorney, is behind the attack, and decides to go into hiding. Griffin, also a candidate for governor, is aware she knows something about a 25-year-old crime that would torpedo his election prospects if made public. Claire, who creates shadow boxes built of driftwood frames filled with natural objects, has just finished a box depicting Griffin's crime, which she leaves for him to find before she vanishes. State police detective Conor Reid later investigates Claire's disappearance, as well as an explosion on the boat of the Chases' neighbors, Sallie and Don Benson, that occurred the same day she went missing. Conor suspects the explosion, which killed Sallie and injured Don, is related. The suspense builds as Claire desperately tries to piece together the extent of the crimes of Griffin and his accomplices. Prepare to be up all night reading. Agent: Andrea Cirillo, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Jan.)

On the day her show of shadow boxes is opening at a local gallery, artist Claire Chase is attacked in her garage--stabbed, hanged from a rafter, and left for dead. She's sure the masked attacker is her husband, Griffin, a man born of privilege who's Connecticut state attorney general and the leading candidate for governor. Claire escapes and goes on the run, canny in survival techniques but not knowing whom she can trust, given Griffin's support group of local fat cats who anticipate lucrative development opportunities once he's elected. But Claire believes there are dark secrets in Griffin's past (depicted in a particular shadow box dedicated to him), and it turns out she's not the only one. As Detective Conor Reid (introduced in Last Day, 2020) searches for Claire, he suspects a connection to the death of local decorator Sallie Benson in a boat explosion. Decades-old crimes lead to current murder in a case unwound through the efforts of strong women. With a core of appealing characters, best-selling author Rice--known for domestic fiction and romance--has the makings of a promising mystery series here.

An artist comes back from the dead to help catch her killer. Addressing the reader with disconcerting directness, Claire Beaudry Chase explains that she's died. This turns out to be a half-truth; she's awakened after having been strangled and left for dead by a man in a black mask--whom she presumes to be Griffin, her husband. Claire is expected that evening at the Woodward-Lathrop Gallery for the opening of her new art exhibit, and when she doesn't arrive, Griffin, a Connecticut State's Attorney and candidate for governor, shows appropriate concern. Conor Reid, a detective with the state police, is at the opening with his girlfriend, Kate Woodward, who owns the gallery, and his sister-in-law, Jackie, who runs it. Claire goes into hiding and slowly recovers, her belief in Griffin's guilt intensified by the memory of his girlfriend Ellen's suspicious suicide a generation ago. Meanwhile, Conor begins to investigate what happened to Claire the night of the opening. Claire's revelations alternate with accounts of Conor's probe and the investigation of a second mystery. A couple sailing on Long Island Sound discovers Dan Benson clinging to what's left of his boat. His wife, Sallie, and their children, Gwen and Charlie, are missing. Chapters from Sallie's perspective, leading up to the incident, are folded in. Rice front-loads the plot and introduces a daunting number of characters early on, but Claire's absorbing narration keeps the story afloat until some important distinctions and connections become clearer. Once a link between the two stories is established, Conor's probe proceeds quickly, aided by Jackie and eventually the resurrected Claire. Rice's compelling heroine and crisp prose lift her brisk thriller above the formulaic. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.