The shocks come fast and furious in Therme’s gripping sequel to 2021’s If She Dies. In the Midwestern town of Harlow, Tess Parker remains traumatized two years after her five-year-old daughter was fatally struck by a car driven by Brady Becker, who was sentenced only to a short prison term for the homicide. After Becker’s release, Tess hires a PI to keep an eye on him, a step she’s concealed from her husband. But she’s thrust into more danger following a car accident that seriously injures her passenger, Torrie Adams, the widow of Tess’s brother Colin, landing Torrie in a coma. As Tess juggles her responsibilities to enable her to care for her infant nephew, a stranger appears, claiming to be Torrie’s older sister, despite Torrie having stated she’d grown up without any family. Another supposed sibling of the comatose Torrie enters the picture, further muddying the waters. Therme makes his lead’s responses to the unexpected believable and the jolts from the twists earned. The ending tease will have Mary Higgins Clark fans eager for the sequel. (Self-published)