Possession
Burned-out from a sniper case, his marriage on the rocks, Washington, D.C., detective Vance Graegan retires from the police force and moves to California, where he and his wife intend to open a delicatessen. But it’s not going to be a smooth move. First, the movers announce they’re not releasing Graegan’s possessions unless he pays them an exorbitant sum of money (this is based on a distressingly common true-life scam). But the situation quickly goes from bad to worse, and soon Vance is fighting something he thought he’d left securely buried in his past. This is a solidly plotted novel with only one real drawback: savvy readers will spot the main villain on first appearance (this seems not to be deliberate on the author’s part). Aside from this slip, Gutteridge does a nice job of building suspense and showing us the toll it’s taking on Vance Graegan’s family. --David Pitt