The eleventh Jonathan Stride thriller races like a speeding bullet. Stride, still on leave from the Duluth, Minnesota, police department (Funeral for a Friend, 2020), eventually returns to active duty to investigate a kidnapping. A lawyer's wife was held for ransom; the lawyer paid up, but his wife has not been freed. Jonathan soon begins to have doubts about the lawyer's story. Meanwhile, Jonathan's wife (and fellow cop) Serena is reeling from the death of her mother; on desk duty after a screw-up in the field, she becomes obsessed with a cold case that bears disturbing similarities to her own life. This complex story has a lot of moving parts, but Freeman, who has also written for the Jason Bourne series (The Bourne Sacrifice, 2022), has a sure and steady hand. Freeman's Bourne novels might get more publicity, but his Stride novels are where his skills as a storyteller are really showcased. First-rate.

Thriller Award winner Freeman's strong 11th Jonathan Stride novel (after 2020's Funeral for a Friend) finds the Duluth, Minn., cop, who once headed major crimes before he almost died from a gunshot wound, returning to work after more than a year of medical leave to help his old partner, Lt. Maggie Bei, with a kidnapping case. Attorney Gavin Webster contacted Maggie to report that his wife, Chelsey, had been abducted several days earlier; he complied with the kidnapper's demands to pay a $100,000 ransom and to not involve the police, but, despite that, he's heard nothing further, and Chelsey remains missing. Maggie suspects Gavin may not be telling her the whole story, indeed may have faked the abduction as a way of ending his marriage. Meanwhile, Stride must contend with the struggles of his wife, Serena, also a cop, after she learns that her abusive mother has died, reviving fraught emotions and threatening her hard-won sobriety. Freeman makes the inner lives of the Strides accessible even for newcomers, and perfectly balances plot twists and character development. Those who like their crime thrillers infused with humanity will be rewarded. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider ICM Partners. (Nov.)