cover image Peter Miles Has to Die

Peter Miles Has to Die

Katie Collum. Bantam, $30 (320p) ISBN 978-0-593-97461-2

In Collom’s underwhelming debut, three women in their late 20s seek revenge for their friend’s murder. It’s been a year since Beck Grant’s death, and officials have yet to identify the killer. But Beck’s best friends, Dylan, Priya, and Isabel, know that Peter Miles—Beck’s abusive former boyfriend and a police officer in their north Texas town—is responsible. When Peter starts showing up at the Ace of Spades, where Dylan tends bar, she and the other women decide to take matters into their own hands. After hatching and executing a foolproof plan to kill Peter and cover their tracks, the friends receive threatening, anonymous phone calls. Then someone defaces one of their cars. With astute detective Bree Righetti closing in on them, the women attempt to stick together, even as cracks start to form in their alliance. Collom cleverly generates suspense with chapters narrated by an unnamed character who’s in prison for Peter’s murder, and she infuses the tale with a winning feminist message. Unfortunately, poorly shaded characters and two-dimensional bad guys undermine those virtues. This aims high but falls short. Agent: Claire Harris, P.S. Literary. (Aug.)