Skeletons — Eric Sauter

The murder of his lover sets Philadelphia cop Patrick Paige on the trail of a psychopath in this superbly frightening suspense novel. Paige had been tracking the killer, Edward Grant, for years--but for his brilliant burglaries. Now that Grant has added gruesome murders to his repertoire, Paige turns to dangerous ploys in his desperation to apprehend him. After a sting he has arranged with a woman who had been robbed by Grant ends horribly, he tries again with another woman, leading to a truly harrowing resolution. In a subplot, Paige also unearths grim skeletons from his family's past, revealing why Paige's wife was murdered years before, and adding depth to Sauter's second novel ( Predators ) that lifts it above the conventional mystery genre. (June)