Tuesday's Gone: A Frieda Klein Novel
*Starred Review* London police seem to have an open-and-shut case when the body of a naked man, who was apparently tortured and murdered, is found in the home of a mentally ill woman. But DCI Malcolm Karlsson isn’t so sure, so he again turns to psychotherapist Frieda Klein to serve as a consultant. When the victim is identified as an extraordinarily empathetic con man who had assumed a false identity, multiple suspects emerge. As Klein brings her expertise to bear on the murder, she’s getting bad press for her previous work with police involving an identical-twin serial killer (see Blue Monday, 2012), a matter that still literally haunts her. At the same time, both Karlsson and Klein are dealing with difficult personal matters, and a cutback in police funding looms. The husband-and-wife writing team of Nicci Gerrard and Sean French skillfully melds police procedural and psychological suspense, and the Frieda Klein series provides the opportunity for greater concentration on character development, particularly with a protagonist whose profession is probing the human psyche. Psychological suspense at its best, with full-bodied characters and a closing cliffhanger, will leave fans waiting to see what Wednesday will bring. --Michele Leber