Look Closer

The new thriller by judge, novelist, and eight-time James Patterson collaborator Ellis (“Jason Kolarich” series) opens on Halloween. The trick-or-treating has ended two hours before, and here Simon is, standing in the foyer of a house in upscale Grace Village, looking at the hanging dead body of Lauren, his long-ago love. She’s dressed in costume, a cat from head to toes. A quick sweep to make sure he’s left no clues, and Simon, dressed as the Grim Reaper, slips away. Who will notice him on a night when everybody is costumed? Thus begins this tricky tale of greed and revenge in which a cast of unappealing characters all try to take advantage of one another. What happened? Who did it? And even more pressingly, why? The answers change every so many pages in a tangled story that stretches back two decades.