VENUS ENVY

A meticulous serial killer in Napa Valley runs the risk of capture when her homicides become too personal in this thriller.

Right now, Vanessa Flynn needs a “normal life” with her college professor husband, Hunter. That way, she steers clear of any suspicion, as she’s murdered four men in as many years. Most of the victims had been sex offenders, but the fourth was someone she knew, leading the cops right to her front door. Vanessa kills primarily for revenge, having lost her mother decades earlier to a rapist/killer whom authorities never caught. But that familiar homicidal urge crops up again when she surmises Hunter is having an affair. Though she plots a frame-up, it still involves deaths. Meanwhile, Detective Candice Blake has been working the case of the Napa Valley Killer with little to show for it. She finally gets a break when she hears of a murder from 30 years ago—the same M.O. except that the victim was a woman. If Candice ties that homicide to Vanessa, the serial killer will be under even further scrutiny, and her careful planning may not be enough to keep her out of prison. Laningham molds a wonderfully complex killer. For example, Vanessa considers herself a professional on a “mission” of justice. But her urges are also psychological, as a particular material seemingly triggers them. Hunter and Candice are likewise well developed. Hunter obsesses over the goddess Venus, whose likeness in Botticelli’s celebrated painting Vanessa resembles, while Candice faces constant undermining in a male-dominated field, especially by her partner and her boss. The author’s concise, lucid writing style makes for a quick read. But the investigation is sparse; readers may wonder why Candice—or the FBI—didn’t connect the decades-old murder sooner. Still, it’s exhilarating to watch Candice inch closer to the dangerously talented culprit.

A keen examination of an intriguing and disturbing murderer.