Innocence Road

Second-generation cop Leanne Everhart rues the day she let familial duty drag her back to stifling Madrone, Tex., in the suspenseful if somewhat wobbly latest from bestseller Griffin (Liar’s Point). Journalists descend on the Madrone Police Department after a high-profile murder conviction is overturned on the grounds of a coerced confession. Then Leanne finds a young Jane Doe dead on the outskirts of town, a case that police chief Jim McBride makes clear he wants buried in light of the ongoing media firestorm. But Leanne’s consult with forensic anthropologist Dr. Jennifer Sayers turns out to be a game changer: not only does the crime scene contain a second person’s bones, but over the past nine years, Sayers has identified remains from four other female victims with similar injuries. As Leanne scrambles to solve the case without alerting McBride—in part by wheedling favors from her ex, now with the local sheriff’s department, and her longtime friend, FBI agent Sam Carver—Griffin’s twisty tale accelerates at a satisfying clip. Unfortunately, some of the secondary characters and subplots (including one about Leanne’s drug-addicted brother) are underbaked. Still, this atmospheric page-turner starring a complex detective is engrossing enough to deserve a sequel. Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Nov.)