Don't Look for Me

October 23, 2017
British author Cross’s uneven fourth thriller featuring former black ops manhunter Carter Blake (after 2016’s The Time to Kill) finds him leading a carefree existence on Louisiana’s Grand Isle. In Summerlin, Nev., novelist Sarah Blackwell reports a late-night break-in at the house of her neighbors, Dominic and Rebecca Smith. Sarah hasn’t seen the couple in weeks, and when the police do nothing, she goes next door, where she retrieves a notebook containing Blake’s email address below a note saying “break glass in case of emergency.” Sarah emails Blake, and soon the two team up to track down Rebecca, whom he knew as Carol Langford, his former lover who disappeared six years earlier. Meanwhile, a contract killer closes in on Dominic, who has gone his own way. Blake eventually uncovers connections between the couple and a jewel heist in which millions of dollars in diamonds were stolen. He and the hit man inevitably collide with bloody consequences. Cross keeps the tension high, but the characters are largely two-dimensional and emotionally unengaging, and the real thrills are few and far between. Agent: Luigi Bonomi, LBA (U.K.).

November 1, 2017
In this fourth Carter Blake thriller (after Winterlong, 2017), British novelist Cross brings Blake out of his sort-of retirement. Boredom, understandably, has become an issue. An unexpected e-mail from Sarah Blackwell, a former crime reporter in Nevada, puts him on the trail of Carol Langford, a woman he once loved but who disappeared six years ago. Her goodbye note said simply, Don't look for me. But Carol has now left a note for Sarah, her neighbor, saying she would be back in a few days, and months have passed. Deciding that Carol is in danger, Blake and Sarah team up, combining her newspaper and police contacts with his people-finding skills. An atmospheric journey through the ghost towns of the Arizona desert leads the pair on a treasure hunt and into a deadly contest with a notorious hit man. The writing is taut, and the pace is unrelenting. With few pauses for reflection and plenty of heart-pounding, visceral action, this one immediately calls to mind Lee Child.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)