Every Breath You Take is the fifth book in the series by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke, featuring Laurie Moran – producer of a TV show which delves into unsolved crimes. (And usually uncovers dastardly deeds. Not to mention the odd killer or two.)

The last book in the series, The Sleeping Beauty Killer saw a few changes with the departure of Laurie’s love interest (and the show’s host), lawyer Alex Buckley and I wondered if that meant he’d be gone from our lives as well as Laurie’s.

Every Breath You Take
by Mary Higgins Clark, Alafair Burke
Series: Under Suspicion #5
Published by Simon & Schuster
on November 14th 2017
Source: Simon & Schuster
Genres: Thriller / Suspense
ISBN: B071NZSD3D, 9781501171642
Pages: 304

Goodreads

Laurie Moran’s professional life is a success—her television show Under Suspicion is a hit, both in the ratings and its record of solving cold cases. But her romantic break from former host Alex Buckley has left her with on-air talent she can’t stand—Ryan Nichols—and a sense of loneliness, despite her loving family.

Now Ryan has suggested a new case. Three years ago, Virginia Wakeling, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and one of the museum’s most generous donors, was found in the snow, after being thrown from the museum’s roof on the night of its most celebrated fundraiser, the Met Gala. The leading suspect then and now is her much younger boyfriend and personal trainer, Ivan Gray.

Ivan runs a trendy, successful boutique gym called Punch—a business funded in no small part by the late Virginia—which happens to be the gym Ryan frequents. Laurie’s skepticism about the case is upended by a tip from her father’s NYPD connection, and soon Laurie realizes there are a bevy of suspects—including Virginia’s trusted inner circle.

As the Under Suspicion crew pries into the lives of a super wealthy real estate family with secrets to hide, danger mounts for several witnesses—and for Laurie.

Laurie is still trying to get used to Ryan, her show’s new host when the book opens. Her antipathy towards him is twofold. Firstly he’s not Alex and she’s still grieving over Alex’s departure though he made it clear he wanted to give her space to make up her mind about him and their future; and secondly he’s the studio boss’s ‘pet’ and Laurie feels he doesn’t know his place, thinking of the show as ‘his’ when it’s ‘hers’ – borne of her idea and her own heartache (as the first case she investigated was her own husband’s death).

Laurie’s initially uncertain about the new case, given it’s Ryan’s suggestion but she pretty quickly learns (with the help of her ex Police Deputy Commissioner father) that the investigation at the time of Virginia Wakeling’s death was a little underdone.

She’s not entirely sure she believes Ivan and hopes it’s not solely because he’s known to Ryan and worries her host isn’t as impartial as he needs to be; but as she discovers more and more Wakeling family secrets it becomes obvious that others aren’t without motive.

I’m probably offering up a bit of a spoiler here, but Alex appears in the background though he and Laurie haven’t been in contact for a couple of months. His dream of becoming a District Court Judge appears to be coming to fruition but he’s missing Laurie and her son. And of course neither will contact the other because they think they should make the first move. Kinda. As we’re in both of their thoughts it’s hard not to want to slap them around the head a little and force them to talk.

Clark and Burke offer readers a roller coaster of emotions as Laurie takes risks she shouldn’t and toss in a few twists and turns – just when we think we’ve worked out who killed the wealthy widower, so we’re kept guessing and the authors do a good job at convincing us the murderer could be any one of a number of suspects. Right up until the end.

I’m also compelled to mention there’s an interesting ending to the book which made me wonder if there will be a number six in the series, but I guess time will tell.

Every Breath You Take by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke was published in Australia by Simon & Schuster and is now available.

I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.