The children of Eve

Connolly's bewitching latest whodunit featuring Maine PI Charlie Parker (after The Instruments of Darkness) combines hard-boiled tropes with supernatural elements. Parker is hired by eccentric artist Zetta Nadeau after her boyfriend, Wyatt Riggins, receives a text message that reads "Run," then vanishes. Parker's attempt to track down Riggins coincides with a series of gruesome murders, committed by a killer who removes their victims' still-beating hearts. Initially, Parker's investigation points him in the direction of Riggins's work at a marijuana dispensary owned by mobster Devin Vaughn, who conspired to kidnap the children of Mexican drug kingpin Blas Urrea. Meanwhile, Connolly weaves in a subplot about Parker's dead daughter, Jennifer, who's stuck in an unidentified spiritual limbo, where she's targeted by sinister angels who try to persuade her to enter a realm where she'll lose her memories. Connolly once again flexes his gifts for vivid characterization and striking prose ("The shirts matched the brilliance of his dentition"). This long-running series shows no signs of slowing down. Agent: Darley Anderson, Darley Anderson Agency. (May)