At the funeral of her mother, murdered in her upscale Baltimore home, Kate English reunites with once close friend Blaire Barrington, from whom Kate has been estranged since her marriage to the stuck-up Simon. Best-selling mystery author Blaire supports Kate through her trauma but becomes increasingly aggressive as she grills friends and family about the murder. Will the author, actually sisters Lynne and Valerie Constantine, pull off a surprise twist worthy of their eye-popping LibraryReads pick, The Last Mrs. Parrish? With a 150,000-copy first printing.

When her mother is found brutally murdered, Dr. Kate English learns that career, wealth, and status are not enough to insulate her from devastating loss. Following the funeral, Kate receives macabre warnings that her own life is in danger. Despite heightened home security and support from her friend Blaire, with whom she's recently reunited, Kate remains frightened and begins to suspect those in her inner circle, wondering if the same person responsible for her mother's death might now be tormenting her. Could it be Kate's father, who was recently heard arguing with her mother; Kate's estranged husband or his presumed mistress; an eccentric friend with a history of stalking; Kate's daughter's nanny; or a stranger with a vendetta? As the threats intensify, Kate and Blaire (a best-selling mystery writer) work together to unravel the riddle before Kate comes to harm. VERDICT Sisters Lynne and Valerie Constantine, under the pseudonym Liv Constantine (The Last Mrs. Parrish), have crafted another clever whodunit jam-packed with enough twists, turns, and secrets to keep avid thriller readers second-guessing until the bitter end. [See Prepub Alert, 11/5/18.]—Mary Todd Chesnut, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights

In this uneven page-turner from the pseudonymous Constantine (The Last Mrs. Parrish), blueblood Baltimore surgeon Kate English's enviable life implodes with the shocking murder of her mother, a beloved philanthropist—followed by chilling texts insinuating she's next. To make matters worse, Kate wants her architect husband, who she's convinced has been cheating on her, to move out of the family mansion, but he insists on staying so he can help protect her and their four-year-old daughter. About the only bright spot is Kate's unexpected reconciliation after the funeral with long-estranged childhood best friend Blaire Barrington, who offers to apply the detective skills she's acquired writing a bestselling mystery series to the case. Though increasingly ingenious twists only spotlight the flimsiness of the players, Constantine (sisters Lynne and Valerie Constantine) expertly ratchets up the tension as the nursery-rhyme-referencing threats mount, leading to a security breach that strikes perilously close to home. Those who value plot over character development in their psychological thrillers will be satisfied. Agent: Bernadette Baker-Baughman, Victoria Sanders & Assoc. (May)