Dead Woman Walking

July 17, 2017
Jessica Lane, the heroine of this hit-or-miss thriller from Mary Higgins Clark Award–winner Bolton (Daisy in Chains), plans a birthday surprise for her sister, a Carmelite nun—a balloon ride over England’s Northumberland National Park. But as the balloon floats over a dilapidated farm house, Jessica and the other passengers see a man, later identified as Patrick Faa, beating a woman to death. Faa fires a rifle at the balloon, causing it to crash; Jessica is the only survivor. Bolton shifts—sometimes smoothly but too often in the middle of a scene—among the police investigation, led by Supt. Ajax Maldonado; Jessica’s attempt to evade Faa; the prior, sometimes prickly, relationship between the sisters; and a larger, somewhat more far-fetched story involving human trafficking and a massive cover-up. Maldonado and his team soon discover Jessica is a fellow police officer, but they’re stumped as to why she’s now on the run, a question the reader shares for too long. Despite some emotional resonance, Bolton’s plot is too cluttered for any real impact. Agent: Anne-Marie Doulton, Ampersand Agency (U.K.).

August 1, 2017

Bolton's (Little Black Lies) latest stand-alone hits the ground running--so to speak--with a terrifying hot-air balloon crash. The passengers witness a murder from the air, and the perpetrator stalks the balloon from a motorbike; eventually, all but one of the passengers are dead. The survivor manages to evade the killer, but he knows she's alive and sets out to find her. Interwoven with the tense hunt are numerous other threads: a family that runs a human trafficking ring from their heavily fortified compound; the police officer investigating the balloon crash, who has his own complicated connections to the case; and the backstory of the surviving woman and her late sister. The pace is propulsive, the plotting is twisty, and readers will tear through the book as the tension ratchets up. That said, some readers may find that the reveal in the final pages defies credibility and wraps things up a bit too neatly. VERDICT This will be the book of the fall for Bolton's fans and anyone who treasures the experience of staying up late reading just to find out what happens next. [See Prepub Alert, 3/23/17.]--Stephanie Klose, Library Journal

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2017
The lone survivor of a balloon crash flees from a heartless killer bent on silencing her.When Patrick Faa dispatches his victims, he likes a nice, quiet place. The rural north of England, near the Scottish border, would seem perfect. Who'd have thought that a hot air balloon, carrying 12 passengers and experienced pilot Sean Allan, would drift across the sky just as Patrick was bashing his latest quarry with a rock? Patrick feels he has no choice but to bring the balloon down with a shot to the pilot's head. He finishes off the passengers who survive the impact of the crash by breaking their necks, betting that the injuries he inflicts will be masked by those sustained in the crash. But he misses one. The police, when they finally arrive on the scene of what looks like a tragic accident, find the bodies of all the passengers except Jessica Lane, who arranged the balloon ride as a treat for her sister's 40th birthday--a rare treat since, as a member of the Carmelite order housed at Wynding Priory, Isabel Jones hasn't left the convent since she became Sister Maria Magdalena at age 18. Superintendent Ajax Maldonado is frantic to find the lone survivor, who's now wandering dazed through Northumberland National Park, in large part because she's the only one who can tell the police exactly how the crash occurred. But Patrick is just as eager to find her for exactly the same reason. Criminal, policeman, victim: Bolton plays the three sides of her triangle deftly against the middle, delving into their pasts and presents but hinting at a future readers can only guess at. Less of a shock to the system than Daisy in Chains (2016) but still guaranteed to provide its share of chills.

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August 1, 2017
While floating above Northumberland National Park in a hot-air balloon, sisters Jessica and Isabelle Lane spot a woman fleeing from the ruins of a medieval home. As they watch, a man chases the woman down, eventually subduing her with blow to the head. Realizing that the floating tourists are filming the attack, the man fires at the balloon, causing a crash that only Jessica survives. She hides in a tree, barely conscious, as their attacker hunts for surviving witnesses. But Jessica refuses to become another victim and evades the killer, who remains on her trail. Determined to destroy her sister's murderer, Jessica turns the hunt on its end, relying on both her training as an undercover cop and the nuns from her sister's convent to lure the killer into a trap. Although the final twist feels a bit convenient, the Reacher-like thrills leading there generate adrenaline-fueled pleasure. Bolton, who also writes as S. J. Bolton, delivers another strong, resourceful female character in Jessica Lane.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)