2 murders, 2 widows, many secrets in terrific novel

“They’re Gone” By E. A. Barres. Crooked Lane, 298 pages, $26.99

Secrets can have a long shelf-life, following a person into the grave and affecting the survivors’ lives and, sometimes, destroying fond memories, a situation E.A. Barres tackles in his smartly plotted “They’re Gone.” In the first novel under the name of Barres, the author delivers a twisting plot that takes a sharp swerve anytime the reader thinks the solution is at hand, augmented by deep character studies.

Barres brought that same clever storytelling in his previous Anthony-nominated novel “The Unrepentant,” written under the name E.A. Aymar. From its first page, “They’re Gone” sets a brisk pace that doesn’t let up until the finale.

Freelance writer Deb Linh Thomas and bartender Cessy Castillo don’t know each other, but they become united by a similar tragedy. Deb’s husband, Grant Thomas, is a successful, well-to-do businessman who is murdered in the Beltway suburb of Vienna, Virginia, on the same night that Cessy’s husband, Hector Ramirez, an abusive former police officer, is gunned down in Baltimore.

The women’s reactions are different. Deb and her 19-year-old daughter Kim are devastated — Grant was much loved by both and they depended on him for emotional and financial support. Cessy is relieved — tired of Hector’s abuse, she had planned to leave him that very morning. She was stopped only because he severely beat her.

Deb’s calm, suburban life is further upended when she discovers that their hefty savings and Kim’s college fund are nearly depleted. Two criminals tell Cessy that Hector owed their boss $15,000 and that debt is now hers. Deb finds help from FBI agent Levi Price, who has been investigating Grant, while Cessy turns to her shady brother, Chris.

The reader expects the women to team up, but Barres makes their meeting — and eventual partnership — unpredictable, more like a collision than an alliance. Barres continues to keep the reader off-kilter, while avoiding cliches, including when a possible villain makes a late appearance.

Barres continues that precise attention to his characters as both Cessy and Deb, as well as their diverse backgrounds, are fully realized. Both are stunned by the secrets their husbands kept and yet somehow find an inner resolve. Each woman deals with a different kind of grief that is realistically explored in “They’re Gone.” No matter what name he uses, readers can expect more involving novels from Barres. “They’re Gone” is a terrific start.

MARIAN LOZANO PHOTOGRAPHY E.A. Barres, who has also written under the name E.A. Aymar, is the author of the new thriller “They’re Gone.”