A Face to Die For

July 10, 2017
Smooth prose compensates in part for a mundane mystery in bestseller Kane’s sixth novel centered on Forensic Instincts, a New York investigative firm (after 2016’s The Murder That Never Was). Wedding planner Gia Russo, who works in Manhattan, is about to grab a cab when a young woman named Sarah stops her and asks what she’s doing in the Big Apple. Sarah has mistaken Gia for her good friend Danielle Murano, a Minneapolis veterinarian, who looks just like Gia. After this chance encounter, Gia gets in touch with Danielle, and they discover that they’re twins, separated as infants and subsequently adopted. When it becomes obvious that someone is threatening both of them, Casey Woods, the president of FI, musters the company’s considerable resources to protect the twins and find out why they’re in danger. The likable if thin characters seem to get away with their outside-the-lines investigations with nary a sideways look from law enforcement. A bombshell of an unlikely twist raises the stakes. This entry will satisfy series fans, but it probably won’t win any new ones.