used to kill Charles. Clarice was B.’s first wife, who left him to marry Brewster, so when Clarice calls B. asking for help, he refuses to talk to her.

Fortunately for Clarice (and for readers), Ali helps her. Later, police attention focuses on the Brewsters’ housekeeper, who began cleaning up party debris the next morning before encountering Clarice with the murder weapon. Ali doubts either woman is guilty, so she investigates. I use the word “investigates” loosely here. Ali’s help consists primarily of arranging legal aid for both women and eliciting the help of Frigg, a High Noon AI with a knack for finding pertinent records. Ali and Frigg also assist Cami Lee, a High Noon sales executive who narrowly evades a stalker. She later faces additional danger in London, where she’s gone on another sales call. When a dead body connected with Cami’s past turns up in England, she becomes a person of interest, even though she was in the United States when the murder occurred.

OverKill is a hybrid mystery. Readers don’t know who killed Charles Brewster at first, but the murderer’s identity is revealed about halfway through the book. The killer in the London case is also revealed early, along with the details of the plot against Cami and High Noon. As often happens in this type of mystery, the police are a bit slower in closing in on the villains. However, once they convince themselves who is guilty, they still must gather enough evidence to gain convictions.

The author does an excellent job of juggling three separate ongoing investigations, allowing readers to follow them. Police in Seattle, London, and, later, suburban Los Angeles are on the case. (The author helps readers avoid confusion by having each chapter include a time-and-place heading.) The police in those jurisdictions do much of the investigation. Jance includes details of police surveillance and the interrogation of suspects, providing examples of the tactics employed. That police work sometimes leads them to focus on the wrong person, such as the Brewsters’ housekeeper. However, the cops on the case aren’t the bullheaded zealots sometimes found in mystery fiction. Instead, they change their focus and tactics as fresh evidence emerges. Much of OverKill reads like a typical police procedural with a bonus for readers by having three different sets of police to follow.

While the police do the legwork in OverKill, Frigg handles the behind-the-scenes investigation. Frigg is an AI version of Penelope from Criminal Minds, with an uncanny ability to access and search police, phone, and financial records to uncover relevant evidence. The author also gives Frigg a personality quirk. Frigg has trouble mastering colloquial English, which often results in the AI uttering malapropisms, such as saying a suspect has been “trained” instead of “railroaded.” These slippages were entertaining at first, but I grew tired of them after the fifth or sixth time the author resorted to them.

Ali’s appearances in OverKill are pretty limited. Her primary function in the investigations consists of feeding valuable information to the attorneys, police, or similar entities. She seldom appears in the novel’s second half. Instead of observing Ali as an investigator, readers see Ali helping a worthy high school student secure a scholarship and assisting with funeral arrangements for an employee’s deceased relative. Fortunately, most of Ali’s altruism occurs early in the book, so these scenes don’t become major distractions later. Those (like me) who are new to the Ali Reynolds series may be confused about the names of some of Ali’s friends and employees that figure peripherally in the storyline. Although OverKill is a standalone mystery, readers who are familiar with Ali’s backstory in previous books will be better able to follow these anecdotes.

I enjoyed OverKill, although its unusual plot structure took some getting used to on my part. Fans of forensic investigation work will enjoy Frigg’s efforts here (although not so much for its mishandling of colloquial English). Those who want a good procedural will also find some entertaining and illuminating sequences. The police officers in the book are portrayed as having personalities rather than being one-dimensional stereotypes. I could have done without the looks at Ali’s personal life, but fortunately, the author inserts those sequences in spots where they are less obtrusive. I’ve read a couple of Jance’s earlier books (although this is my first Ali Reynolds novel). It’s not overkill for me to say that OverKill is an entertaining and fitting addition to her canon.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.