THE FAULT TREE by Louise Ure

Louise Ure raises the bar with The Fault Tree, a suspenseful, nerve-wracking novel about a witness to a murder whose own life becomes threatened by what she knows. That premise alone has begun many great novels and films, only the witness in Ure's story happens to be blind. Cadence Moran lost her sight to a tragic car accident but still works as an auto mechanic, able to feel and hear the problems in an engine that other mechanics have long since abandoned. This character is terrific. Not a meek, cowering woman with a handicap, Cadence is a smart, resilient woman drawn in three dimensions by Ure's flawless prose.

Does the killer realize the witness is blind? Did Cadence hear something, and can she remember enough to be a threat to the killer? How can you catch a killer, let alone escape one, if you can't see them? This book sticks a knife in your gut in the very first chapter, and you'll feel it twist with every turn of the page.

Ure won the Shamus Award last year for her amazing debut Forcing Amarillyis, a gut-wrenching story of rape and murder in the arid landscape of Arizona. Her sense of place is terrific, the descriptions so evocative you'll start to sweat. Buy 'em both, you won't regret it.