A tense thriller with bite and brains…
Cooper’s ninth Brad Parker and Karen Richmond thriller blends scientific intrigue with a chilling revenge plot. Dr. Eric Salton, praised for a breakthrough lung cancer drug, is savagely murdered. Another dies in a staged mugging. The same woman’s DNA is located at both scenes. But no one knows who she is or why she’s killing. As the body count rises, suspicion edges closer to Brad himself, whose professional ties to the victims make him both a target and a bait. Karen, now a lieutenant with Maine State Police, works the case alongside him, but even she may be a step behind the killer’s game.
Cooper probes the dark undercurrents of academic medicine, where reputation shields predation and victims are too easily dismissed. The whodunit is less about surprises than consequences, as the emotional stakes deepen through careful attention to character, especially the women Salton manipulated. Clear-eyed and tightly written, the novel avoids sensationalism in favor of thoughtful tension. Cooper’s scientific background lends weight, but it’s his restraint and humanity that give the novel its charge. For readers who like their science sharp and their stakes personal, this one cuts deep.
Coming soon
