The Passenger

Tanya Dubois, as she's initially introduced, is not the woman her husband believed her to be. He's dead—she didn't do it—but Tanya runs anyway, shedding her name and recent past yet again and taking on another identity. In another town, another bar, she meets Blue, who recognizes a kindred imposter and shelters Tanya-now-Amelia—at least for a while. The two will need to reinvent themselves once (twice, thrice…) more to escape their ghosts and the law and to stay alive. With a motley crew of abusive husbands, wealthy criminals, old boyfriends, desperate cops, and jealous brothers, men don't fare particularly well here. The body count grows, although who actually kills whom is tough to pinpoint when no one is who they claim to be. The latest from Lutz ("Spellman Files" series) is taut, serious, shocking, and undeniably addictive. Madeline Maby's excellent narration keeps the energy high, mimicking the characters' nerve-racking life on the run.