Samantha Leiffer has confronted a serial killer – and won. She’s survived September 11, 2001 in New York City. Now she just wants to live quietly with her police detective boyfriend John Krull and work at her two jobs: teaching preschool in the morning and staffing a theater box office in the afternoon. But getting back to normal isn’t easy. A stranger hands her a note telling her she’s in danger. Her ex-boyfriend reappears with an unusual justification for the infidelities that ended their relationship. Her mother, a female version of Dr. Phil, apparently has moved from California to New York without even letting her only child know of her presence. And living with John is less than totally blissful.  

But then things get positively deadly. The woman who rented Sam’s apartment when she moved in with John is murdered. John is acting very distant and can’t – or won’t – account for long absences from home and job. Was the note, which Sam dismissed as being the delusions of a nutcase, a genuine warning of looming danger? When the body count rises, all signs point to Sam as the connecting theme. Is someone killing for her, or will she be the ultimate victim?  

In my review of Hide Your Eyes, I wondered how the author would continue the series in a credible manner; after all, dead bodies don’t usually drop in front of preschool teachers on a regular basis. Gaylin does manage to justify our heroine’s involvement in another series of violent crimes, although to reveal the rationale would spoil the plot. What she doesn’t do as well is maintain a satisfying relationship between Samantha and John. After starting their romance on such a promising note, it’s frustrating and annoying to see them lapse into clichéd communication problems and big misunderstandings. Sam receives a second note from the mysterious stranger, but she fails to tell Krull about it because the note warns her not to. The fact that Krull is a seasoned detective doesn’t deter her from this foolish behavior. Krull’s behavior isn’t much better - he has something important to tell Sam but never manages to reveal his secret because the couple keep getting conveniently interrupted. John also misinterprets an interaction between Sam and her ex-boyfriend and storms off before Sam can explain. Are these mature adults or high school students?  

Fortunately other aspects of the story work extremely well. By setting the novel around the first anniversary of 9/11, Gaylin provides a creepy, paranoid atmosphere that adds to the suspense. The secondary characters are well-drawn, and Sam’s troubled relationship with her mother is particularly poignant at a time when she needs some maternal care and support. The writing is sharp and smooth, able to elicit laughs and shivers within the same page. The final climax is less than plausible, however, with the murderer providing a full disclosure for Sam and then falling for his captive’s “I’m really on your side” trick like a bumbling idiot even though he’s been smart enough to murder numerous people without being caught.  

All in all, I’d call You Kill Me a draw, with the strong points just barely outweighing the weak ones. Gaylin is reportedly at work on a third novel with a new protagonist, and I’m still impressed enough by her writing to be excited about that prospect.  

--Susan Scribner