Publishers Weekly
05/31/2021
At the start of this taut thriller from bestseller Abbott (Never Ask Me), Kirsten North, a New Orleans freelance researcher, believes her husband, Henry, a software consultant specializing in computer security, is in New York City on a business trip. Then she gets a call from Henry’s phone that’s not from him. The indistinct voice, whose gender is unclear, informs Kirsten that Henry has been fatally shot in Austin, Tex., then hangs up. An online search yields a press report that two men were found shot to death in an Austin warehouse two days earlier. Only one victim has been identified: entrepreneur Adam Zhang. Fearing that Henry’s killer may have been the anonymous caller, the distraught Kirsten hops the first flight to Austin, unaware that her seatmate is shadowing her. After identifying her husband’s corpse in the county morgue, Kirsten begins digging on her own into the baffling tragedy. She later joins forces with Adam’s widow, Flora, even though she suspects Flora of being behind the murders. Abbott adroitly shifts perspectives to raise the suspense. Lisa Unger fans will be pleased. Agent: Peter Ginsberg, Curtis Brown. (July)
From the Publisher
PRAISE FOR NEVER ASK ME:
"Abbott writes in an authoritative way about the protocols, many of them maddening, of adopting a child. He also has a real understanding of the emotional roller-coaster couples going through the process must endure."
—New York Times Book Review
"No one exposes the dark, fraught underbelly of suburban America quite like Abbott, and his propulsive latest, depicting the relationships between families tied together via an overseas-adoption process, is a proper humdinger."—Boston Globe
"Cunning and complex."—Publishers Weekly
"[A] suspenseful novel by a master of the psychological thriller."—Booklist
"NEVER ASK ME produces almost unbearable tension and suspense. . . Readers will be kept guessing all the way to the end and most assuredly will be flipping back to some of the previous journal entries [to predict] the future events that Abbott deftly lays out for us as only he can."—Book Reporter
PRAISE FOR JEFF ABBOTT:
"Abbott uses his skills as a master storyteller to convey a complicated and ambitious tale that seems straightforward but is full of twists and red herrings. He also keeps the story moving without falling into clichés or over-the-top revelations. The mystery works because of the terrific characters and the beautiful road map he unveils while navigating the reader through a complex landscape. Those who enjoy unpredictable stories can never go wrong diving into the world of Jeff Abbott."—Washington Post
"Like a stage magician, Abbott often seems to be doing one thing when he's actually doing something else, and when we realize what he's been up to, we can't help but shake our heads in admiration."—Booklist
"Abbott is a master of misdirection."—Library Journal
Library Journal
02/01/2021
Washed-up cybersecurity expert Henry North and supremely successful venture capitalist Wei "Adam" Zhang met only in death, their bodies puzzlingly found together in an abandoned warehouse in Austin, TX. Now their widows have joined forces to ferret out their husbands' secrets. A stand-alone from three-time Edgar nominee Abbott; with a 40,000-copy first printing.
