Agnes Hahn by Richard Satterlie

Paperback: 9781933836454, $7.95

Though the plot centers around her and the book is named for her, Agnes Hahn doesn’t have a strong presence in this tale. Agnes lives a very solitary life after her Aunt Ella is placed in a home, suffering from severe Alzheimer’s, and her Aunt Gert dies. But all that is shattered when the local police arrest her for a series of gruesome murders.

Enter Jason, a reporter suffering from a broken heart and under pressure from his editor to deliver a good story or else. Agnes might be the central character, but Jason is the lead, whether he’s fighting the local cops for the big exclusive or falling for someone who might be a rare female serial killer.

While the tension sometimes falters and the characters are largely ordinary people, the mystery of Agnes Hahn is solid, a twisting tale of police procedure and psychology reflective of the genre’s forerunner, Thomas Harris.