Every Breath You Take (Under Suspicion #5) by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

Synopsis

“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 crippling sense of loneliness.

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 dead in the snow, after being thrown from the museum’s roof on the night of 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.”

-Synopsis from Goodreads

Review

Another great installment in the Under Suspicion series!

*spoilers ahead*

As the synopsis alludes, this one starts with Laurie in a good place professionally but not personally. She’s been apart from Alex for months but can’t stop thinking about him and whether or not she made the right decision; she replays their last conversation in her head over and over, while grappling with the fact that she still misses her husband, Greg. This remains an ongoing battle for her throughout the book.

Laurie is also still navigating her working relationships with Ryan, the new host of her show. His brusque behavior, not to mention his friendship with their boss, Brett, is enough to get on anyone’s nerves. Laurie is not alone in feeling that he hasn’t pulled his weight on the show, certainly not enough to be calling it “his” show which really irks Laurie.

I was so annoyed when he not only suggested the Virginia Wakeling case, but then casually mentioned that the suspect was on his way up to the offices right that moment. There was nothing Laurie could do but keep her cool, but this just shows how much of a team player Ryan is not. He doesn’t respect Laurie’s authority, or the process that the show follows for vetting potential cases and witnesses, which would then result in pitching the idea, and starting interviews; Ryan goes about everything backwards, all based on his so-called instincts. He is such an annoying character, but he certainly gets the ball rolling on this case, which Laurie eventually has to acknolw.

Laurie suspect Ivan is the killer, but doesn’t voice her opinions, no matter how many times Ryan insists that he is innocent. She and the team follow their normal protocol with researching Virginia Wakeling’s family and acquaintances and setting up interviews to get a better picture of her life at the time of her death. As it turns out, there were other people who stood to either lose or gain, financially that is, from her death, namely her surviving children and nephew. Ivan Gray points her in the direction of Virginia’s will, which was changed before her death, and asserts that because her children were going to get less money than they anticipated, that they are the ones who killed her.

Laurie and the team also have to spend a considerable amount of time recreating the scene of the crime at the Met, and verifying not just where each suspect was at the time of Virginia’s death but their alibis as well. A silent alarm was triggered the night of Virginia’s death, calling into question what or who caused it, and if it was related or coincidental. Laurie suspects the alarm going off was some kind of diversionary tactic, she just has to figure out why.

This was a great story although I did think that the ending seemed rather abrupt. I wanted to know how certain people took the news about who the killer was, not to mention a little clarification on Carter and Penny and that relationship. The way they were both suspects and then suddenly not guilty had me scratching my head.

Overall, this was another great book in the series. I need to hurry up and read the next book before the final one comes out in November!

Goodreads rating: Five stars