Buried

May 20, 2019
In Cooper’s so-so sequel to 2018’s Caged, FBI agent Sayer Altair, a neurologist who’s studying serial killers’ brains in an effort to ascertain what makes some psychopaths killers, is called in after a fellow agent stumbles on a cavern containing multiple human skeletons in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park. Her life and that of a colleague are almost instantly imperiled at the bottom of the cavern when someone pours gasoline from above into the cavern and sets it on fire. As her inquiry progresses, the future of her position is under threat from a Congressional hearing into how the murderer from the previous book could work undetected at the Bureau’s Quantico lab for years. Meanwhile, an anonymous participant in her research study, who claims to be a Washington, D.C., power broker, says he knows the truth about the death of her fiancé, Jake. The various story lines all follow conventional paths. That Cooper’s prose skews melodramatic (“As Sayer made her way back to her motorcycle, a coal of violence burned in her chest”) doesn’t help. This one’s strictly cookie-cutter. Agent: Amy Tannenbaum, Jane Rotrosen Agency.

Starred review from May 1, 2019
FBI Special Agent Sayer Altair, a neurologist first seen in Cooper's debut, Caged (2018), is summoned when human remains are found in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. It's not exactly her type of case?on the side, she's interviewing psychopaths and scanning their brains?but a political mess has left the bureau shorthanded. Right after Altair arrives at the park, someone attempts to set her and her colleague on fire, and the fast-paced twists and turns in the agent's work and personal life don't let up from that point. Cooper has created a lovable crew of family and colleagues around Altair; the author's whip-smart plotting and crisp writing make them characters to remember. This one will leave fans waiting for more, and they may not have long to wait, as Cooper appears to be following a one-book-a-year schedule. The combination of science and personal warmth makes Cooper's protagonist a natural for devotees of Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)