The Big Exit

DAVID CARNOY is an executive editor at CNET and is interviewed regularly on television as a tech expert, appearing on CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, and other media outlets. He is the author of the acclaimed thriller Knife Music and lives in New York City with his wife and children.

Seven years ago, Rick Forman was convicted of vehicular manslaughter despite his insistence that the apparent passenger, his friend Mark MacGregor, was driving. Evidence seemed to contradict Rick’s story, and he served the manslaughter sentence, plus some. While Rick is away, MacGregor adds insult to injury by marrying Rick’s fiancée, Beth. Now released, Rick is building a life around his job with the Exoneration Foundation and steady gigs as a Sinatra impersonator. But when Beth finds MacGregor horrifically murdered in their garage, she and Rick become suspects. This time, though, Team Rick includes famed attorney Marty Lowenstein, Rick’s sleuthing coworker Ashley, and a hilariously narcissistic blogger bent on breaking the case. Carnoy’s skilled backstory navigation in this follow-up to his well-received debut, Knife Music (2010), invites new readers to jump right in. Multiple narratives are somewhat unbalanced and maybe unnecessary, but the characters’ round-robin of distrust will keep readers guessing, and the ever-present humor (ranging from sharp irony to snort-worthy scenes) warrants a recommendation on its own. --Christine Tran