by Ray Saadi

INVISIBLE By James Patterson & David Ellis, Little, Brown,  $28

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FBI researcher Emmy Dockery, takes leave from her job to hunt the serial killer she believes murdered her sister and likely hundreds of others in several states. Her ex-fiancé, field agent Harrison “Books” Bookman agrees to help although he’s sure she’s on a wild goose chase. That is, until Emmy discovers a valuable piece of evidence. Interspersed within the chapters are diary entries dictated by the killer and secreted in his lair, gloating over his murders and predicting more. Details of his tortures of victims is, be warned, graphically horrific.

NATCHEZ BURNING By Greg Iles, William Morrow, $27.99

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Iles returns with a powerful novel of racial tensions, romance and murder in this Mississippi town on the banks of the Mississippi river. Although mixed race relations are strictly taboo in Natchez, it seemingly thrives here. When popular doctor Tom Cage is accused of murdering his one-time nurse and lover, his son Penn, Natchez’s Mayor and former prosecutor, rushes to help. But Dr. Tom, citing the physician-patient-privilege, refuses to assist in his defense. Vicious KKK members and unscrupulous policemen work in tandem attempting to convict Dr. Cage and in the process, destroy his son.