September 20, 2011 Ellison's seventh Taylor Jackson thriller (after So Close the Hand of Death) reduces the body count from previous installments but maintains the tension as the Nashville homicide officer, mute after being traumatized by a serial killer who nearly did her in, seeks shelter in a Scottish manor house. The Manderley-like estate is the home of Taylor's detective inspector colleague and would-be romantic interest, James Highsmythe, who was widowed when his pregnant wife, Evanelle, drove off a bridge. A family friend of James's tries to help Taylor regain her lost voice. Back in the States, Taylor's fiancé, Dr. John Baldwin, and her best friend, Dr. Samantha Loughley, work through their own recovery and cases while worrying about Taylor long distance. Are the phantoms haunting Taylor the result of her PTSD, her guilt, or something more menacing? The growing suspense will keep readers glued. The Cold Room, the fourth in the series, won the 2011 ITW Thriller Award for best paperback original. (Oct.)

Reviewed in Publishers Weekly 8.1.11