A KILLER'S WIFE

4 stars out of 5

Let me get what I didn't like so much about this book - which I read as part of Amazon's First Reads program - out of the way up front. Although prosecuting attorney Jessica Yardley is a woman made stronger in large part by her less-then-perfect life choices, those choices don't quite line up with her strengths (put another way, it's hard to believe she's really that clueless when it comes to love). Also straining credulity is another prosecutor in her office - one who becomes charged with a case central to the plot - who inexplicably turns in a blithering idiot performance when it counts most. Finally, although I fervently hoped I would be wrong in my early assessment of another main character, my hunch was spot-on. And rather than make me happy that I was right, what I felt more than anything was disappointment (and, Lord help me, some sympathy for that prosecuting attorney for whom I had little sympathy to begin with).

All that out of the way, I quite happily stuck with this book from beginning to end - actually wishing I weren't so busy with other things that I was unable to read it in a marathon session. And as I do love any story that includes courtroom action and psychological drama, it was a treat to find plenty of both here to keep me turning the pages. As the story begins, Jessica is worried about her precious teenage daughter, Tara, who seems to be so bored with school that she's in danger of losing her way. Tara's father and Jessica's ex-husband, Eddie, is on death row, convicted of being a serial killer (unknown to Jessica when they were married, of course).  While she's told Tara about her dad, she's never let the girl visit him in prison (nor has Jessica done so).

Since Eddie's conviction, Jessica met Wesley, a law professor at the University of Nevada who recently moved in with her and Tara. When murders similar to those committed by Eddie suddenly turn up, a copycat killer is suspected; Cason Baldwin, a detective and Jessica's one-time love interest, asks her to go visit Eddie to get his insights as to who the killer might be (and who might be the next victims).

Of course, she balks at going to see her manipulating ex; also of course, she relents. Not surprisingly, Eddie wants to get off death row; but he plays it coy and demands to see Tara before he'll cooperate. Of course, Jessica balks at allowing that to happen; also of course...

Somewhere around the middle of the book, readers learn (for the most part) who did what; after that, it's mostly a matter of revealing the when, how and why - some of which happens at the trial of one of the characters - a trial from which Jessica at first is prohibited from prosecuting because of an obvious conflict of interest. Revealing anything more would spoil the book for others, so all I'll say is it ends with that (to me) unhoped-for twist. All told, this is an intriguing start to a new series (Desert Plains No. 1), and for sure I'll be watching for the next installment.

A Killer's Wife by Victor Methos (Thomas & Mercer, March 2020); 351 pp.