She Didn’t See It Coming

A woman with a seemingly idyllic life in the suburbs of Albany, N.Y., is brutally murdered in Lapena’s solid latest (after What Have You Done?). When Bryden Frost fails to pick up her daughter from day care, her friends and family start to panic. After the police find nothing missing from her condo, they send a K9 unit to search the entire complex. Soon, they discover Bryden’s dead body encased in a plastic bag and stuffed inside a suitcase in one of the building’s storage lockers. Over the next week, the police—led by detective Jayne Salter—question several suspects, each with their own secrets. There’s Bryden’s neighbor, who’s warding off accusations of assault; her sister, who’s been jealous of Bryden since birth; her best friend, who’s become a little too entangled in Bryden’s home life; and her husband, who’s prone to violent outbursts and acting visibly nervous. Lapena lays out the puzzle with a sure hand, and ties everything together in a satisfactory conclusion. This gets the job done. Agents: Felicity Blunt and Rose Pierce, Curtis Brown U.K. (July)