THE BURIED HOURS

A journalist’s dangerous project also provides the key to a haunting attack against her.

A year after a painful divorce and two years after she was abducted and drugged, losing several hours of her memory, documentary journalist Signe Gates struggles to rebuild her life. Unhelpfully, she still sees her ex-husband, Leo, who's her former cameraman, since they both work for the Wayfinders Network, a streaming app. Signe’s future rides on her pitch for Crime Lords, a series that links her personal violation to a larger criminal operation. A provocative text message from someone calling himself “DiscoFever” promises to share important information about her attack if she’ll meet him at Yosemite National Park. Because her new cameraman, Roman, is on crutches, Leo, whom she runs into at an event at the Wayfinders Museum, agrees to find a replacement. The star of the event is dashing archeologist Cole Banner, whose swagger annoys Signe. With this foundation, Grant’s thriller cruises for a while as a romance. Cole and Signe meet cute: He of course is the substitute cameraman Leo’s found. Against the rugged backdrop of Yosemite, the pair banter and grow to trust each other. Romance stays in the mix as the tale swerves back into thriller territory. As DiscoFever continues to manipulate Signe, the wilderness provides both physical danger and a metaphor for her struggle. Grant skillfully shuffles familiar tropes and writes with precision and pace, keeping the stakes high by intermittently casting suspicion on the three most prominent men in Signe’s life.

A brisk and satisfying, if formulaic, romantic suspenser.