How to Get Away with Murder

Philipson debuts with an impressive serial killer thriller that puts a fresh spin on tired genre tropes. At the outset, Scotland Yard DI Sam Hansen is reluctant to return to work after taking a six-month leave due to sexual harassment from a colleague. Then she happens across the strangled body of 14-year-old Charlotte Mathers under an oak tree on which Charlotte’s initials and “DB” are carved inside a heart. “DB,” Sam assumes, is Denver Brady, the self-proclaimed “most successful active serial killer in the Western world,” who has recently self-published a chilling instructional guide titled How to Get Away with Murder. Feeling an unusually strong connection with the victim, Sam returns to the force and asks to be assigned to the investigation. Philipson alternates Sam’s increasingly obsessive quest to find Brady with passages from his book, many of which outline murders he’s committed in clinical detail. Though the cat-and-mouse game between cop and serial killer is familiar, Philipson’s nuanced portrait of her wounded heroine and savvy book-within-a-book narrative structure make this stand out. A sequel would be welcome. (Feb.)