A SPECIAL INTEREST IN MURDER

A 24-year-old autistic woman displays a remarkable talent for detection in this novel by an autistic author.

Ada Latia built a cosmetic company that her ex-husband, the ironically named Rex Friendly, stole when he divorced her “eight months, two weeks, and three days ago,” marrying her best friend two months later. Now, forwarding her an article about the death of an autistic schoolgirl, Rex insults her by saying that autistic people aren’t really human. Despite her pain, Ada is drawn into the story by the accompanying picture showing a body that seems to be posed. The girl’s death has been called an accident, but Ada is sure that it’s murder. Her efforts to get the case reopened are fruitless until she leaves a message on the FBI public line. Then she gets an unexpected call from her schoolmate Henry Bloodstone, an FBI agent, who remembers both her quirks and her prodigious talents. Conversations with neurotypical people are always difficult for Ada, but she agrees to work as Henry’s unofficial consultant, and they travel to the victim’s school in Idaho to investigate. The child who died, Ella Kimball, came from a wealthy family, and her high-priced tuition was helping to support the school. At the time of her death, she was with one of the two autistic sons of the school director, Soledad Sanchez, who’s willing to let her son take the blame for an accidental death in order to save the school. Meeting Ella’s parents, especially her furious mother, is so traumatic for Ada that she goes into a meltdown. Interviewing everyone who works at the remote school, she and Henry find that Ellie was an extremely difficult child. But who wanted her dead? Despite the difficulty of the investigation for Ada, it will lead to life-changing events.

A clever series kickoff featuring a sleuth who opens the often misunderstood world of autism to a wider audience.